CBRE Arranges $32.5 Million Sale of 100,525 SF Office Building in West Palm Beach, Florida

CBRE facilitated the $32.5 million sale of the fee simple interest in EcoPlex, a 100,525-square-foot office building located at 1641 Worthington Road in West Palm Beach, Fla., on behalf of Navarro Lowrey Properties.

The sellers were exclusively represented by Christian Lee, Marcos Minaya, and Tom Rappa with CBRE Capital Markets, along with Kevin Probel, the leasing broker for the property.

The buyer is a joint venture between affiliates of West Palm Beach based MHCommercial Real Estate Fund II, a discretionary real estate private equity fund, and Waterfall Asset Management, a New York based SEC-registered institutional asset manager. Financing for the transaction was provided by LoanCore a leading institutional lender that has financed over $25 billion in commercial real estate loans since 2008.

Built in 2008, EcoPlex is 87 percent leased to a diversified tenant roster with 5 or more years of weighted average lease term. The four-story property features a fitness center with showers and lockers, outdoor plaza, five-story parking structure with a 4:1,000-square-foot parking ratio, and fiber optic service.

“An influx of new-to-market tenant activity in Downtown West Palm Beach is putting tremendous upwards pressure on CBD market rents, causing the spread between CBD and Ecoplex rents to swell to nearly $35 per square foot – the widest it has ever been. As this trend continues, EcoPlex is perfectly positioned to capture tenants that are seeking value alternatives that still provide proximity to Downtown West Palm Beach,” explained CBRE Vice Chairman Christian Lee.

EcoPlex was the first speculative office building in West Palm Beach and only the second in South Florida to achieve the LEED® Gold Certification. It is designed to withstand winds of a Category 4 hurricane and is equipped with three generators with integrated above ground diesel fuel tanks.

“This property set a new standard for offices in South Florida with its abundance of economic, environmental and employee benefits. Its forward-thinking design has enabled the property to achieve increased energy and water efficiency, significantly lower operating costs, healthier working conditions, and a lower environmental impact. Tenants at EcoPlex highly value the building systems and chose the property because of these attributes,” said CBRE Vice President Marcos Minaya.

The property features convenient access to the CBD’s amenity base, including Rosemary Square and Clematis Street which feature a variety of eating options, including: Elisabetta's Ristorante, Brio Tuscan Grill, Blue Martini, Burger Fi, Ruth Chris Steak House, Rocco’s Taco’s, Duffy’s Sports Grill, Palm Beach Grill, Buccan, Café Boulud.

Additionally, this location offers strategic access onto the region’s major transportation infrastructure, including Interstate 95 (less than 1 mile away), Palm Beach County International Airport (1 mile away), Tri-Rail/Virgin Trains USA (2 miles away), and the Florida Turnpike (4.6 miles away).