Melvin Mark Cos. Sheds 266,000-SF Evergreen Corporate Center for $25M

The sale price of $25.1 million included an undeveloped parcel entitled for 46,000 sf. Trevor Wilson of Broadreach tells GlobeSt.com the park is 60% vacant in a market that is 30% vacant on average, providing opportunity for some instant upside. In addition, the buildings are newer and well built. "The quality of the product relative to the other empty product is top notch," Wilson says. "Those guys are great developers."

Evergreen Corporate Center sits on 23.5 acres at NW Evergreen Parkway and Aloclek Drive. Three of the buildings are one-story buildings with a brick and glass finish that were built in the mid 1990s. The fourth is a matching two-story, 54,846-sf building that was completed in 2001 and remains in shell condition, having never been occupied. One of the three single-story buildings also is vacant.

The sale price works out to $94 per sf, which is well below replacement cost. Melvin Mark Cos. chief executive Jim Mark did not return a phone call seeking comment. In a prepared statement, he says market conditions in this area are improving, helping to build confidence among investors who see a promising future in the region. "Right now, the metro area is an excellent seller's market," he said.

With the market having rebounded as of late, the current market rate for this type of office product is around $.90 per sf, says Wilson, which is much better than the $0.70- to $0.80-per-sf range the market was in just last year. "We're not seeing concessions burn off, but we're getting close," he says. "Rental rates are moving up."

The acquisition was one of the last Broadreach will make for its first fund, which launched in 2003 with $300 million of equity and a three- to five-year hold period. Also in the first fund is its share of the US Bancorp Tower in Downtown Portland, which it owns in partnership with Unico Properties of Seattle, and a neighboring property known as the Lincoln Building. Wilson wouldn't talk about the status of its next fund, but industry experts tell GlobeSt.com that if Broadreach is done investing its first fund then it is likely well down the path toward its next fund.