GHP/Benerofe Takes 2M-SF Verizon Portfolio

Local sources value the deal at approximately $150 million. CB Richard Ellis officials would not comment on the reported purchase price. GHP Office Realty officials could not be reached for comment at deadline. GHP Office Realty is the office building division of Houlihan-Parnes/iCap Realty Advisors, LLC, an owner, operator and purchaser of suburban class A office space. The partnership owns and manages more than five million sf in the tri-state area. Its holdings are located in Westchester, Rockland and Nassau counties in New York. It also has office assets in Fairfield County and in New Jersey.

The 16-property portfolio purchased from Verizon includes two office properties in the New York metro region: 400 Westchester Ave. and 500 Westchester Ave. in Harrison, which total 58,000 sf and 120,000 sf respectively. The other properties included in the sale are located in: California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts and Texas. The traded portfolio is phase one of Verizon's 25-asset, 2.3-million-sf, multi-state property package that was put on the market for sale by the telecommunications company.

Some of the largest properties changing hands in the deal include the 248,526-sf 750 Canyon Dr. office building in Coppel, TX and the 247,011-sf 500 East Carpenter Freeway office property in Irving, TX. The GHP/Benerofe partnership also acquired the 222,056-sf office building at 280 Locke Dr. in Marlborough, MA and the 172,329-sf office building 12470 Telecom Dr. in Temple Terrace, FL. In addition to the office and industrial properties that changed hands, an 8.4-acre parcel near its 630 Forest St. office building in Marlborough, MA was also part of the sale.

CB Richard Ellis' Robert Alexander, co-chairman of the firm's New York Tri-State Region; Jeffrey Dunne, vice chairman; Joan Meixner, senior vice president; Jeffrey Oram, vice president; and Ramneek Rikhy, senior financial analyst; represented Verizon and also procured the buyer. The team received assistance from CBRE brokers in each of the local markets the properties were located in, company officials add.

"Not only did we find a buyer who recognized the value of Verizon's portfolio, but we were also able to devise a flexible strategy that enabled Verizon to transition its operations from these facilities in a timely and effective manner," Alexander says.

"The Verizon portfolio provides GHP a rare opportunity to own a critical mass of 'value-add' property throughout the country, most with short-term leasebacks from Verizon," Dunne adds.