West Palm Beach, FL-based NAI/Merin Hunter Codman Inc. represented the buyers in the transaction. The buyers plan to spend between $8 to $10 million to complete building improvements and build-out of tenant spaces, work which was initiated by the sellers two years ago. NAI/Merin has been retained to oversee the final stages of the building development as well as perform leasing and property management.

951 Yamato is comprised of three two-story buildings with a soaring atrium that will run the length of the main building. It originally served as a key IBM base in the mid-1980's when operating systems for personal computers were developed at the location. "We plan to bring 951 Yamato back to its original prominence and then some," says NAI/Merin Hunter Codman chairman Neil Merin. "We're taking IBM's original superior infrastructure and topping it off with the most modern and attractive build-out for a superior office building."

The building's location, one mile west of Interstate 95 on Yamato Road which is one of Boca Raton's main east/west thoroughfares, was among reasons the property was attractive for acquisition. "In Boca Raton, there's not much vacancy and very few buildings that can accommodate large users," NAI/Merin Hunter Codman president Jay Grossman tells GlobeSt.com. "951 Yamato can accommodate tenants that want as much as 125,000 sf."

Grossman adds that for tenants seeking 40,000 sf to 50,000 sf, there are "probably less than five choices in the market. "It's a gutted building so tenants can design space to exactly fit their needs," he says.

With the purchase of 951 Yamato, JP Morgan has purchased over $250 million in class A office properties in Palm Beach County over the last year.