HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HFF announced today that it has closed the $176 million sale of and arranged $130 million in financing for three Class A office buildings totaling 1,065,628 square feet that are part of the Houston Galleria.
HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an affiliated entity of Walton Street Capital, L.L.C., and procured the buyer, Unilev Capital Corporation.
“During the process interest rates increased substantially. Unilev and the lender committed to close the transaction and both closed as originally agreed to, which is a testament to their character and abilities to bring capital in an ever changing marketplace,” said Robert Williamson of HFF.
HFF worked exclusively on behalf of the buyer/borrower, Unilev Capital Corporation, to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan through J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. The loan will be serviced by HFF.
“Dan and Raymond Levy worked diligently to close this transaction for Unilev and displayed the highest level of professionalism through the entire process,” added Williamson.
Located at 2700 Post Oak Boulevard, 5051 Westheimer and 5065-5075 Westheimer, the properties are part of the Houston Galleria, a mixed-used development that includes 2.3 million square feet of upscale retail space, two Westin hotels with 893 rooms, three office towers and parking for 12,685 vehicles. The Houston Galleria anchors the Galleria/West Loop office submarket and is located about five miles west of downtown Houston. Tenants at the 90 percent leased office towers include Air Liquide, Southern Union, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets, UBS, Banco Santander and BBVA Bancomer.
The HFF investment sales team representing Walton Street was led by senior managing director Robert Williamson.
HFF senior managing director Wally Reid led the team representing the borrower, Unilev Capital Corporation.
Walton Street Capital, L.L.C. is a private equity real estate investment firm. Since its founding in 1994, affiliates of Walton Street Capital have received total equity commitments of $5.7 billion from public and corporate pension plans, foreign institutions, insurance companies and banks, endowments and foundations, trusts, and high net worth individuals. Affiliates of Walton Street Capital have invested and/or committed to invest approximately $4.5 billion of equity in approximately 180 separate transactions.
Unilev Capital Corporation, founded in 1992, is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, with affiliate offices in Texas, Colorado, Minnesota and New York. Unilev is a privately held real estate investment organization that also partners with a select, limited group of affiliated entities to acquire well-located, income-producing commercial properties with long-term investment potential.
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP (“HFF”) and HFF Securities LP (“HFFS”) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, advisory services, structured finance, private equity, loan sales, and commercial loan servicing. www.hfflp.com.