Philly's Rubenstein Hires Eastdil to Scout Capital City Plaza Buyers

ATLANTA-In what many area brokers believe may be the first of several sales of trophy office properties here, Philadelphia-based Rubenstein Co. is considering selling One Capital City Plaza, an 18-story, 410,000-sf trophy office building in the high-end Buckhead market. Locally based Eastdil Realty LLC has been retained to test the waters.

Jefrey Kusumi, Rubenstein’s chief information officer, tells GlobeSt.com that a published value of $75 million for the property is “erroneous” and “low.” He says another published report, which places the asking price at between $80 million and $85 million, is “more accurate.”

Kusumi tells GlobeSt.com the building is 93% leased and confirms that rental rates of between $27.50 per sf and $28.75 per sf are “approximate,” but “correct.”

Blue Cross/Blue Shield is the anchor tenant, occupying 270,000 sf, or more than half of the building. Locally based Jefferson Pilot Communications is another major tenant.

In a printed statement, Kusumi says Rubenstein is “responding to the investment community’s interest in high-quality, stable operating properties offering secure cash flow in a targeted, supplied, constrained market.”

Rubenstein acquired the building from Menlo Park, CA-based Spieker Properties in 1998. According to published reports, Rubenstein paid $61.4 million or $149.75 per sf, a price Kusumi would neither confirm nor deny.