JP Morgan sells Centrepark buildings in West Palm to group of investors

Centrepark office building. Inset: CBRE's Chris Lee

New York-based Colonnade Properties and affiliates of Grace Development and Flagler Realty just acquired the Centrepark East and West office buildings in West Palm Beach.

Entities managed by JP Morgan Asset Management sold the nine buildings, which total 479,145 square feet of Class A office space near I-95, according to CBRE. The properties sold for more than $65 million, records show. 

CBRE's Christian Lee, Jose Lobon, Amy Julian and Marcos Minaya represented the seller. NAI Merin Hunter Codman's Neil Merin handles leasing for the park, according to the firm's website. Merin could not be reached for comment.

The properties are: 1400 and 1450 Centrepark Boulevard; 1475, 1720 and 1801 Centrepark Drive; 1661 Worthington Road; 2101, 2301 and 2400 Centrepark West Drive. They were built between 1988 and 2004, and include a 10-story tower, three low-rise buildings and five single-story buildings. They're located in the mixed-use Centrepark corporate park, a 41-acre campus, according to CBRE.

Centrepark is 82 percent occupied by 64 tenants, including Ocwen Financial, SV Microwave, Conroy Simberg, Seacrest Services and Earthlink, the firm said. Lee said in a statement that rent is projected to grow by 27 percent of the next five years. About 86,000 square feet of space is available.

The Palm Beach County office market has seen a consistent decline in vacancy rates, which are down by 2.6 percentage points year-over-year to 16.7 percent, CBRE previously said.

The buildings last sold for a combined $109.25 million between 2006 and 2008, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The sellers, all entities controlled by JP Morgan, were previously tied to TA Realty.

Colonnade, Grace Development and Flagler financed the purchase with a $36 million mortgage from Rialto Mortgage Finance for five buildings on the east side and $18.45 mortgage from NXT Capital for the west portfolio, records show. CBRE arranged the financing.

Both the buyers and seller could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last year, Colonnade Properties sold the Phillips Point office towers in West Palm for $246 million along with Prudential Real Estate.