Crocker Rebuys Half-Empty Boca Office Towers

PALM BEACH, FL—Crocker Partners just acquired two high-profile office towers from MetLife Real Estate Investors. The class A office buildings are in Boca Raton's Town Center Mall area an add 339,000 square feet of office space to Crocker's South Florida portfolio.

Noteworthy is the fact that Crocker entities originally developed both office assets: One Town Center and The Plaza. Both are located just south of Glades Road but have seen better-performing days. The two buildings are only 42% occupied.

“Buying class A vacancy in one of South Florida's most desirable office markets is central to our investment strategy,” says Thomas J. Crocker, founder and managing partner. “Our basis in these assets is a fraction of the cost it would take to replace them and we have significant upside potential as both buildings come with extensive development opportunities.”

Tenants include Wells Fargo and Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors. Crocker will manage the properties. The firm hired CBRE for leasing.

This latest acquisition, in partnership with Siguler Guff, brings Crocker's holdings in Boca Raton to over 616,000 square feet. Crocker re-acquired the 277,390-square-foot One Boca Place office center earlier this year. The company expects to ink another major acquisition deal by the end of 2014 that will ultimately bring its Boca Raton portfolio to over 1 million square feet.

Crocker partner Angelo J. Bianco says the company sees potential from development of surplus land surrounding the projects and pointed to its deep roots in the Boca Raton market as reasons for the buys. Crocker is headquartered in Boca and has developed many of the city's most prominent buildings. 

Beyond The Plaza, which Crocker developed as Boca's first class A office tower, and One Town Center, Crocker introduced the city's two major mixed-use centers, Downtown Boca Raton's Mizner Park and suburban Boca Center. Crocker spent $133.2 million to acquire 12 buildings in the Flagler Center business park in Jacksonville, FL in September. Crocker has also bet on Maitland office space this year. All told, Crocker's portfolio now includes over 8 million square feet of office real estate in the Southeast US and Texas, representing more than $1.5 billion invested.