PREI Buys Brickell Office Tower for $185M

MIAMI—Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI) just announced the acquisition of Sabadell Financial Center, a 30-story, class A office tower in Miami's Brickell Financial District, for $185 million. An affiliate of Spanish real estate firm Testa Inmuebles en Renta, S.A. sold the office asset, which is also known as 1111 Brickell.

Known as “the Manhattan of the South,” Brickell has the largest concentration of international banks in the U.S. and is one of the fastest growing residential neighborhoods in Miami. Sabadell Financial Center sits between Brickell Avenue and Brickell Bay Drive. PREI execs indicated the acquisition reflects the group's strategy to capture opportunities for investors created by the neighborhood's attributes.

“With Miami growing in stature among the top business and financial hubs in the Americas, the timing was ripe for PREI's entrance into the Brickell market,” says Cathy Marcus, managing director at PREI and senior portfolio manager for the firm's core open-ended equity commingled real estate strategy. “With a location in the sought-after Brickell district and an enviable tenant base, Sabadell Financial Center is a perfect fit with our investment strategy.”

Originally built in 2000, the 523,000-square-foot building is 85% leased to a mix of financial services companies and law firms. The building is connected to a 22-story JW Marriott Hotel, which is not part of the acquisition, but serves as a convenient amenity for the office tower. PREI plans to make new capital investments to attract multinational and regional tenants while retaining existing occupants.

Blanca Commercial Real Estate will spearhead the leasing and marketing for Sabadell Financial Center. GlobeSt.com hinted at this industry move on April 12, which is the day the acquisition closed. This deal marks five exclusive office leasing wins for Blanca in just four months. Stay tuned for more about Blanca's strategy for the new tower.