The firm, which was founded in June of last year, purchased the 124,725-sf property from RPW Group of White Plains. The complex had at one time been the corporate headquarters for the Frank B. Hall insurance company.

Robert Weisz, principal of RPW Group, purchased the Briarcliff Corporate Campus in 2001 for approximately $8 million. The property, located at 555 Pleasantville Rd., is fully occupied with tenants that include: USI, which leases approximately 60,000 sf; Chas H. Sells, which occupies approximately 22,000 sf of space and Duane Morris & Heckser LLP, which has an office of about 11,000 sf.

Cushman & Wakefield Metropolitan Area Financial Services Group specialists Patrick R. Colwell, George Lambros III and Andrew Merin worked with the property's leasing agent, Glenn Walsh of C&W, in marketing the property and procuring Core Plus Properties as the buyer.

The transaction marks the third property acquisition for Core Plus Properties since its inception 15 months ago. Richard Saunders, a principal and managing director for the firm, says that with its latest deal, the company owns approximately 375,000 sf of space in the Washington, DC area, Manhattan and Westchester County with a total value of approximately $100 million.

He says that he, along with the firm's other managing partners and principals Frank Gallo and James Millard, are looking for additional acquisition deals in the Westchester/Fairfield County area and in the Washington, DC/Northern Virginia region. When asked why the firm added the Briarcliff Corporate Campus to its portfolio, Saunders says, "We think Westchester has very good fundamentals and is poised for rental growth in the next few years."

"Briarcliff Corporate Campus offered the investor a highly attractive combination of location, quality, stable proven income, and long term investment value," Cushman's Colwell adds. Rents at the property, which is situated on approximately 15 acres, currently start in the mid $20-per-sf. range.

He says that the property has a very stable tenant base. "We have a list of companies that want to lease space there, but there is just no space available."

While Cushman officials did not divulge the identity of the other bidders for the property, Merin says, "The offering attracted multiple offers from regional and local investors ranging from institutions to individuals."

While RPW Group has sold off the Briarcliff Corporate Campus from its portfolio, it is seeking to conclude the largest deal in its history--the acquisition of the Altria Group headquarters, which totals approximately 625,000 sf. RPW Group signed a contract for the property in July and is expected to close on the deal in the near future. Informed sources in the local commercial brokerage community estimate the eventual sale price on the Altria Group property in Rye Brook will be more than $40 million.