Bridge Investment Doubles South Florida Commercial Portfolio
The property is currently 76% occupied. Bridge Investment Group, which acquired more than 6 million square feet of space in the US in 2018, says it plans to undertake a $5-million capital improvement program at the campus.
SUNRISE, FL—Bridge Investment Group has added a more than 500,000-square-foot office complex here to its Southeast portfolio and plans a multi-million-dollar upgrade to increase tenancy at the property. The deal doubles its South Florida commercial footprint.
Bridge Office Fund Manager LLC, a subsidiary of the Salt Lake City-based global investment management firm, acquired the Sawgrass Technology Park in Sunrise, a 514,332-square-foot, 11- building office complex on 56 acres on Sunrise Boulevard. The deal boosts Bridge Investment Group’s commercial portfolio in South Florida to more than 1 million square feet.
The property is currently 76% occupied. Bridge Investment Group, which acquired more than 6 million square feet of space in the US in 2018, says it plans to undertake a $5-million capital improvement program at the campus that will include new tenant-exclusive amenity facility that will feature a gourmet café, state-of-the-art fitness center, flexible lounge and other on-site services. Cosmetic renovations to the lobbies, common areas and exterior of several buildings are also planned as part of the property’s repositioning.
No financial terms of Bridge Investment’s acquisition were released. Back in 2013, affiliates of Miami-based Fifteen Group and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. acquired the Sawgrass Technology Park for $52 million.
However, in that transaction, Fifteen Group acquired Sawgrass Technology Park, which at the time was described as a 12-building complex on 63 acres that totaled 645,000 square feet.
The property was originally construction in 1985 as the Racal-Milgo world headquarters.
“The acquisition of Sawgrass Technology Park presents a rare value-add opportunity in a high-growth urban-suburban market featuring walkable amenities and robust employment growth,” says Kelly Kuykendall, director, asset management for Bridge Investment Group. “With limited speculative development in the region and no new construction occurring within the Sawgrass Park submarket, we anticipate favorable conditions for rent growth and long-term asset value increase in the years ahead.”
Sawgrass Technology Park is located at the entrance to the 612-acre Sawgrass International Corporate Park. The Sawgrass Park submarket currently has the lowest office vacancy rate in Broward County at 5.3%.
The property is also located near the soon-to-be completed $1.5-billion Metropica development, 65-acre mixed-use project that will feature 500,000 square feet of restaurants, bars and high-street retail, more than 2,200 residential units and a 240-room luxury boutique hotel. The campus is also in close proximity to Sawgrass Mills Mall and is within a five-minute drive of 62 restaurants and bars, more than 500 hotel rooms, nearly 300 retail shops and two movie theaters.
Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the operating company for Bridge Office, will oversee all leasing, property management and redevelopment work at STP. Leasing will be led by Deanna Lobinsky of Cushman and Wakefield.
Earlier this year, affiliate Bridge Seniors Housing Fund Manager LLC acquired nine senior housing properties in the Southeast.