Stiles Sells Las Olas Tower It Developed in 2002 for $164M

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre has a new owner. Stiles developed the 23-story office and retail building in 2002, sold majority interest to Shorenstein Company in 2005, and has now handed the keys to 401 East Las Olas LLC, an entity owned by an institutionally managed real estate fund. The buyer paid about $164 million.

Located at 401 E. Las Olas Blvd. in the central business district of Downtown Fort Lauderdale, the complex includes a five-story 1,042 space parking garage and a pedestrian-friendly high-volume plaza with direct frontage on Las Olas Boulevard. The property is 95% leased. HFF marketed the tower, which is home to office tenants such as Bank of America, Guarantee Insurance, Greenberg Traurig and UBS Financial Services, as well as numerous national retailers on the ground floor.

“The market shows that even during turbulent times there is high demand for trophy quality assets in prime locations with long-term lease credit tenants,” Norm Adams, director of real estate for Stiles, tells GlobeSt.com. “LOCC is an award winning trophy class tower... that defines the center of the financial district in downtown Fort Lauderdale.”

Stiles has handled the leasing and property management of the building since its inception and has been credited with reducing operating expenses at the building while maintaining the highest occupancy rates on Las Olas Boulevard. Judy Carter, a senior property manager at Stiles, tells GlobeSt.com, “LOCC is a class A building with a reputation that controls operating expenses and delivers consistent products to the tenants.”

Although it’s not a record setting sale, Rocco Ferrera, Stiles’ chief investment officer, tells GlobeSt.com the market is moving back toward peak pricing for some assets. "Considering the significant recent transactions in this market and current demand for core assets,” he says, “the partnership felt this was an opportune time to market the property for sale.”