"This sets a record for one of the highest prices ever paid on a square-foot basis for the sale of an office building in the state of Florida," Ted Gibbons, president, Investment Realty Advisors Inc. of Boca and Bellevue, WA tells GlobeSt.com. Gibbons introduced the parties in the transaction.

The building at One North Federal Highway is 100%-leased to Wachovia Bank. Gibbons was under a confidentiality clause that barred disclosure of lease details.

The seller was Penn Florida Realty Corp. of Boca Raton, headed by John Lawrence and managing partner Mark A Gensheimer, both actively involved in redeveloping Boca's Downtown corporate sector.

"Not only the stellar location, but the quality of the income stream, the length of the lease and the significant escalations of the base rent over the term of the lease contributed to the very low capitalization rate the building trade for," Gibbons says.

The deal was engineered in March and closed June 19. Gary McDaniel, a principal of Investment Realty Associates of Boca represented Turbo as its local fiduciary.

The Germans picked up a trophy asset in the deal, the broker says. "One Wachovia Center represents a major contribution to the Downtown of one of the most affluent communities in the nation, well-known for its sophistication relaxed, upscale lifestyle," Gibbons tells GlobeSt.com. "Downtown Boca has in recent years witnessed a revitalization of its Downtown with the development of glitzy retail projects, high-rise luxury apartments, upscale restaurants and entertainment, as well as cultural amenities."

One Wachovia Center and an adjoining parking garage were built on a fast 12 month-track by Devco Holdings for an estimated $250 per sf or $10.5 million, construction industry estimators familiar with specialty office properties such as One Wachovia Center tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

Buyer and seller representatives wouldn't disclose the actual construction or development cost.

But Gibbons tells GlobeSt.com "the building cost much more than $150 per sf because land assemblage was quite expensive to put together." He says the city "required very expensive construction and architectural details and the parking garage was not cheap to build."

Miami-based RealData Information Systems which tracks the South Florida office market says a second six-story, 32,500-sf phase at an undetermined date is expected be called City Centre at 101 North Federal Highway.

Gibbons participated in the One Wachovia Center deal from his longtime association with Penn Florida's Lawrence. Gibbons has cemented other high-dollar deals as well.

In February, Gibbons represented Beverly Hills, CA investor Judd Ireland in the the $18.55 million acquisition of the one-year-old, 100%-leased, 102,239-sf Sprint PCS Regional Communications Center in suburban Maitland, FL. The $180.77 per-sf-price is believed to be the highest per-sf transaction of a class A office structure completed in Central Florida in the last 15 years, according to GlobeSt.com research.

In March, Gibbons crafted what is believed to be one of the largest 1031 tax-deferred exchange transactions in South Florida in recent years for Oregon-based Mikami Brothers Trust.

In a three-step, $27.36 million all-cash transaction, Mikami acquired Federal Express Corp.'s 60,819-sf, 5.15-acre automated mail/package sorting and distribution facility at Pompano Business Center in Pompano Beach, FL. The trust then bought the $17 million GE Capital Building from the Sorenson family in Salt Lake City, along with a $5 million Walgreens drug store property.