Cornerstone Real Estate Preps to Sell 395,901-SF Premier Place

Cornerstone's lead man for the disposition didn't return telephone calls to comment on the offering, which is sure to hit the market without a price to ferret top dollar from institutional circles for its three-year hold. The 21-story office building at 5910 N. Central Expressway, appraised at $43.3 million, will be marketed by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP's Andrew Levy and his team after winning the listing in a face-off with the region's leading brokerage houses. Sources say the short list of powerbrokers to hawk the holding included CB Richard Ellis, Trammell Crow Co. and Transwestern Commercial Services.

Local brokers consider Premier Place to be one of the most outstanding office properties in the North Central Expressway submarket as well as being among the largest. "It should be one of the highest prices per sf in that submarket," one broker predicts. "It's a strong multi-tenant building and a core asset."

Premier Place is 90% leased, with more than 60 tenants on its directory. Cornerstone bought the building for nearly $55 million from locally based Archon Group just as the lead tenant, America First Insurance Co., was shifting its headquarters to 3400 Waterview Parkway in Richardson. Sources believe Cornerstone is putting the high rise into play because it's executed its value-add plan by filling the space with a diversified tenant base and wants to collect its just reward from the region's record-setting sale prices.

Transwestern Commercial Services' executive vice president Kim Butler and senior vice president Kim Brooks have leased and managed the asset since Cornerstone bought it. Built in 1985, Premier Place sits on 3.2 acres in an area humming with construction cranes. The asset includes a seven-level parking garage with 1,395 spaces and an amenities roster that includes a 60,000-sf health club. What space is available is quoted at $19.50 per sf to $22.50 per sf.

Cornerstone, an affiliate of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., has three other Texas office buildings up for grabs: a 341,947-sf high rise at 1177 W. Loop South in Houston; 298,943-sf One International Center in San Antonio; and 236,613-sf Two Turtle Creek in Dallas. The investment adviser has spread around the wealth, using teams from HFF, CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. to sell its stock.