MINNEAPOLIS, January 4, 2008 – The Minneapolis office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today the acquisition of a three-building office campus totaling 989,004 square feet, as well as a seven-level parking garage, from ING North America Insurance Corporation (ING). It was acquired on behalf of National Office Partners Limited Partnership (NOP), Hines’ investment partnership with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The purchase price was not disclosed. The campus, which includes ING’s Minneapolis headquarters, sits in the CBD at the confluence of Minneapolis’ most significant streets: Hennepin Avenue, Nicollet Mall and Washington Avenue.
ING was represented by CBRE, and Hines represented itself in the transaction. Hines will manage and lease the property.
The acquisition was comprised of the following:
100 Washington Avenue is a 22-story, 481,604-square-foot office building. It was designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Minoru Yamasaki & Associates, who also designed the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City. The 1980s building features a two-story lobby, and parking is provided in a 420-space sub-level garage as well as 60 surface spaces. The building is 82 percent leased to tenants including ING; Wells Fargo Bank N.A.; Northwestern Mutual; Special Olympics Minnesota; and Lockridge, Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.
20 Washington Avenue is a six-story, 148,163-square-foot office building which was also designed by Minoru Yamasaki & Associates. It was completed in 1964. Parking is provided on-site in 52 underground and surface spaces. The building is fully leased to ING for their corporate headquarters office.
111 Washington Avenue is a 15-story, 359,237-square-foot office building designed by BWBR Architects. It was completed in 1987. Parking is provided off-site in the Hennepin Avenue Parking Ramp. The building is 48 percent leased to tenants including: the FBI; Wells Fargo Bank N.A.; and ING for their data center.
Hennepin Avenue Parking Ramp, located at 25 North First Street, is a seven-level, 279,838-square-foot parking garage that contains 1,066 spaces (900 garage and 166 surface spaces). The ramp is one of a few fully-secured parking facilities in downtown Minneapolis. It was constructed in two phases in 1982 and 1987.
“We think these properties are an outstanding investment opportunity due to the building quality, location and tightening downtown office market,” said Hines Vice President John McDermott. “Hines has had a presence in Minneapolis for more than 25 years, and this is an exciting opportunity for the firm to expand its longstanding presence in the area.”
National Office Partners was formed in 1998. NOP assets are located in Chicago, Denver, Emeryville (CA), Minneapolis, Palo Alto (CA), Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Silver Spring (MD), Wellesley (MA), Seattle (WA) and Austin (TX). For further information on NOP, refer to http://www.noplp.com/.
CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling $255 billion, of which $20 billion is invested in real estate. The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than one million state and public employees and their families. For further information on CalPERS, please visit the System’s Web site at http://www.calpers.ca.gov/.
Hines entered the Minneapolis market in 1981. Currently, the firm owns and/or manages 5.4 million square feet in Minneapolis including 225 South Sixth, 50 South Sixth, Wells Fargo Center and U.S. Bank Plaza. Recently, the firm’s REIT acquired a nine-building, 766,000-square-foot office/flex portfolio of buildings located predominantly in the southwest suburban submarket of Minneapolis. Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 1,000 properties representing approximately 416 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, retail and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 68 U.S. cities and 15 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $19.9 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Visit http://www.hines.com/ for more information.
