INDIANAPOLIS-CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust has purchased an 80% interest in 13 properties owned by locally-based Duke Realty Corp. The majority of the offices, about two million square feet and valued at $342 million, are located in the Midwest.

The deal is a continuation of the buyer purchasing the same stake in another seven of Duke’s offices in December. Duke will continue to own the remaining 20% of the 20-property portfolio, which is valued at $516, says CBRE Realty Trust Chairman and CEO Jack Cuneo.

He tells GlobeSt.com that Duke had wanted to reduce its exposure in the office market. “We were looking to increase our office exposure. We identified a number of some of the best performing assets in perspective markets, and we found that the office market was offering some relatively attractive returns,” Cuneo says.

The Midwest properties include the 212,722-square-foot Norman Pointe I (Minneapolis), 324,-296-square-foot Norman Pointe II (Minneapolis), 175,695-square-foot Landings I (Cincinnati), 175,076-square-foot Landings II (Cincinnati), 105,000-square-foot One Conway Park (Chicago), 99,538-square-foot West Lake at Conway (Chicago), 125,031-square-foot One Easton Oval (Columbus, OH), 128,674-square-foot Two Easton Oval (Columbus),  and the 315,102-square-foot Atrium I (Columbus).

“We like the stability of the assets in the Midwest. These are some of the best assets in those individual markets,” Cuneo says.

The rest of the properties are all in Ft. Lauderdale, FL: The 97,579-square-foot Weston Pointe I (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), 97,180-square-foot Weston Pointe II (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), 97,178-square-foot Weston Point III (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and the 96,175-square-foot Weston Pointe IV (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). The entire 20-property portfolio is about 96% leased.

Cuneo says his trust has other closings recently, including two Exchange Place offices on the waterfront in Jersey City, NJ for a reported $310 million. He says the plan now is to look more aggressively into the warehouse/logistics market. “We’re trying to achieve a balance to the portfolio, and now is the time to do it. The last half of 2010 really had a lack of quality warehouse assets,” he says.