Brookwood Sells Brickell Bayview Centre for $50M

According to published reports, the seller, Brookwood Bayview Investors LLC, an affiliate of Boston-based Brookwood Financial Partners LLC, acquired the property in 2003 for $38.4 million, or just under $134.11 per sf, giving the previous owner, Atlanta-based Archon Group, just $7.8 million above what Archon paid in 2001.

Both ACP and Brookwood credit much of the lift in value to Mary Brickell Village, a residential-retail project now reaching completion adjacent to the tower. "We initially acquired the property with the belief that the continued development of the Brickell submarket into a 24-hour metropolitan center would have a positive impact on the value," says Thomas N. Trkla, Brookwood's chairman and CEO.

"The strength of the submarket and the development of Mary Brickell Village, along with significant investor appetite for properties in the area, have enabled us to achieve our business objectives for the property slightly ahead of schedule," Trkla adds. Chris Lee of the area office of CB Richard Ellis represented Brookwood in the sale.

Also noting the building's adjacency to Mary Brickell Village as well as the Brickell Metrorail station and numerous restaurants and retailers, Steve Caster, ACP's VP, says the tower, with its "dynamic location in the heart of the emerging west Brickell marketplace, provides exceptional value, accessibility and opportunity for tenants in the Downtown and Brickell corridors." This transaction takes ACP's 2005 acquisitions to more than 1.5 million sf.

The building is currently just over 85% leased. Among its newer tenants is the Consulate General of Brazil, which inked a lease for 17,501 sf at the end of 2004. Caster says spaces ranging from 1,000 sf to 20,000 sf, including a full, 16,500-sf floor, are available. He did not disclose a rental rate. The average asking rental rate for class A office space in the Brickell submarket is $30.64 per sf, according to a fourth-quarter 2004 report from the Miami office of CBRE.