Christian Lee, left, and Jose Lobon, right, of CBRE/courtesy photos

In Crocker Partners LLC's sale of four trophy office assets in two years, there was at least one unifying factor: CBRE Group Inc. closed all the deals.

This includes the latest $117 million disposition of One Financial Plaza in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Crocker Partners, a Boca Raton-based real estate investor, and Walton Street Capital LLC, a Chicago-based private equity firm, sold the building Sept. 27 to Alliance HSP LLC, a Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based boutique real estate investor. The deal breaks down to $414 per square foot.

CBRE capital markets vice chairman Christian Lee and executive vice president Jose Lobon in Miami represented Crocker Partners in the transaction.

The 28-story, 282,883-square-foot tower south of Broward Boulevard at 100 SE Third Ave. opened in 1972 as the tallest building in Fort Lauderdale at 374 feet, but has been surpassed by newer construction.

Crocker Partners is a value-add investor that buys underperforming properties, renovates them and then sells them.

It executed its buy-renew-sell strategy with One Financial Plaza since buying in 2017, which underwent an $8 million interior renovation of common areas, including the lobby, security desk, gym, conference center, restrooms and elevators.

A $2 million exterior overhaul is moving the main entrance to the building's east side on Financial Plaza Drive, enlarging the lobby and adding 2,500 square feet of retail space. New pavers will be put on Financial Plaza Drive.

The property generated strong interest with Alliance HSP beating competing buyers. Alliance, founded in 2009 by investors Clay Hamlin III, Jay Shidler and Richard Previdi, focuses on growing markets in the Eastern and Central U.S. It's an affiliate of Honolulu-based Shidler Group Inc., which provides equity and capital to owners of institutional-grade real estate.

The One Financial Plaza renovations guaranteed strong interest from potential buyers, who also liked the central location in Fort Lauderdale's growing downtown, Lee said.

"Investors have a very strong appetite for downtown Fort Lauderdale today. We have had so much absorption since the downturn, and it's really been fueled by all the positive developments going on in downtown," he said. "We have very expensive, high-end executive housing and condos built around Las Olas Boulevard. You have great millennial housing that's been constructed in the thousands and thousands of units in the Flagler Village neighborhood, which is just on the north side of Broward Boulevard. The whole area has just become one of the most vibrant cities in the Southeast U.S."

One Financial Plaza is two blocks north of Las Olas Boulevard and south of Flagler Village, a once-neglected warehouse district that's boomed in recent years with new housing, hotels, retailers and the first high-rises.

The office building is the home of the Tower Club and a Regions Bank branch. Law firm tenants include Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz; Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel; and Brinkley Morgan.

Many floors in the office tower are single-tenant-occupied with average remaining lease terms of eight years. This makes for fewer tenants overall, which is attractive to investors.

About 26,861 square feet is vacant, and another 82,011 square feet will open up over the next five years as leases expire.

"One Financial Plaza features a highly attractive core-plus business plan, providing strong in-place cash flows while offering significant upside potential," Lobon said in a news release.

The $117 million transaction was done in two phases: the $82 million sale of the tower and $35 million sale of the 4-acre lot, which includes a four-story parking garage.

One Financial Plaza is the fourth office tower in South Florida's urban core that Crocker Partners sold in the last two years. Sales started with the $127 million disposition of Miami's SunTrust International Center in May 2018. As part of a joint venture, Crocker sold the 33-story Brickell City Tower for $117 million last September. In July, it sold the 21-story Northbridge Centre in West Palm Beach for $98 million.

Lee, who confirmed CBRE closed all these deals, said Crocker Partners is doing more than just selling.

Last year, Crocker Partners and Walton Street Capital bought the 1.52 million-square-foot Landing at MIA office and industrial park near Miami International Airport for $242 million.

"Crocker is one of the most active real estate investors in the market," Lee said. "As much as it looks like they are selling, they have been buying as much as well."

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