The closing marks Crescent's third asset sale in eight days. This time, JPMorgan, acting on behalf of a pension fund, picked up controlling interest to the 1.2-million-sf Fountain Place at 1445 Ross Ave. plus the mortgage and ground lease to the 1.1-million-sf Trammell Crow Center at 2001 Ross Ave.
Crescent retains a 23.85% stake in the trophies and the general partner role in the second phase of the sell-off. The Fort Worth-based REIT also holds firm to leasing and management reins, except for a third-party management contract at Trammell Crow Center. JPMorgan's second closing, coming just five days after the first, also guarantees a promote for Crescent, based upon long-term performance measures of the two trophies.
But, there's still one more high-profile sale pending for the REIT. In hushed negotiations, Crescent is finessing the sale of a 16% stake in the Crescent in Dallas, Houston Center and Post Oak Central, also in Houston, representing a combined 5.6 million sf valued at $898.5 million. The deal will reduce Crescent's ownership to 24% in that part of the trophy collection.
Crescent has more than doubled the size of its joint venture portfolio in a transition to become an asset manager with select pieces of real estate rather than predominately a property owner holding a packet of deeds. In the past eight days, Crescent has bed down the JPMorgan deal, valued at $1.2 billion, and the $192.7-million sale of 20.7% stake in AmeriCold Logistics to the Los Angeles-based Yucaipa Cos., shared by Crescent and Vornado Realty Trust of Paramus, NJ. The final deal, with the unidentified US equity investor, is predicted to close before the calendar flips.
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