Georgia company buys two Westerre office buildings for $22 million

The Simpson Organization, a real estate investment bank based in Atlanta, Ga., has purchased a two-office portfolio in Henrico County for $22 million, or an eye-popping $135 per square foot, the highest sales price in the office sector in the region this year.

According to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer's Capital Markets Group, which represented the seller, Westerre I and II offers 163,290 square feet of class A office space near Innsbrook Corporate Center in Richmond’s largest suburban office submarket. Eric Robison in Thalhimer's Richmond office completed the sale.

“This is the highest per square foot in the region this year and the highest since pre-recession in the suburbs,” said Robison, a senior vice president with Capital Markets.  The transaction was Simpson's first investment in the Richmond market, and its second in Virginia this year with Thalhimer brokering another earlier deal for the company in Newport News.

“Market fundamentals are very strong, and most investors still think there's room for growth in our market.That, coupled with a very well located asset that has consistently performed well, drove pricing on this deal. It was very competitive,” Robison said.

Westerre is an institutional quality portfolio, consisting of two, four-story office buildings located in the Westerre Office Park. The portfolio is 92.1 percent occupied by 26 tenants, including Tridium Inc., Interbake Foods LLC, Comcast and Batzli Stiles Butler Law Firm.

The buildings are located in a park-like setting with fountains and water features. They are located just off of West Broad Street, with access to I-64, and close to many retail and hotel amenities.
The Simpson Organization has hired Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s office leasing team of Dean Meyer and Mac Wilson to represent them in leasing the property.

The deal represents the second major recent acqusition of office properties in and around Innsbrook. In August, Highwoods Properties Inc. sold 11 buildings of about 359,000 square feet to two buyers for $40.7 million.