CBIZ Leases 21,000 SF at NAI Building

(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

BOCA RATON, FL-Cleveland-based professional services company CBIZ has signed a 10-year lease for 21,000 square feet at a class A office building located at 951 Yamato Road. The lease is valued in excess of $5 million, according to NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, which recently reopened the building after a redevelopment last year. The institutional owner of the property was not disclosed.

The tenant, which is an account provider, employee benefits specialist, valuation firm and property and casualty agency, is consolidating operations within Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties at the location. Previously, CBIZ leased 16,000 square feet within 951 Yamato, and had specifications for its new space included within the building’s recent redevelopment. The company now houses 40 employees at the site and has room for further expansion.

“We reviewed space alternatives for over a year,” says Bob Schneiderman, principal at NAI/Merin, who represented CBIZ in the lease transaction. “All roads led back to 951 Yamato due to its central location in South Florida, about midway between the West Palm Beach and Miami business districts, and the fact that the building offered a large footprint that could accommodate business growth.”

CBIZ decided to lease larger space at the Boca Raton building because of its convenient access to Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike. A Tri-Rail station is also across the street and Boca Raton Executive Airport is within close proximity, says Richard Brockney, senior commercial associate at NAI/Merin, who represented the owner of building, 951 Yamato Acquisition Co. LLC.

The 145,000-square-foot office building was originally built in the mid-1980s as a key office for IBM. When the new owner bought the property in August 2006, it was completely renovated for occupation by multiple tenants, including Fortune 500 corporations and NAI/Merin, which leases 2,000 square feet there as its south Palm Beach County office. The building is now one-third occupied, according to the brokerage.