Cornerstone Originates $144 Million Loan for Centennial Towers in South San Francisco
12-Story Office Building to Be Converted into Leading Life Science Facility
HARTFORD, Conn. and SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers ("Cornerstone"), one of the largest global real estate investment managers, announced that its Alternative Investments Group has originated a $144.3 million loan to finance the acquisition and repositioning of Centennial Towers, a 12-story, 340,000 square foot, Class A office building in South San Francisco, on behalf of an institutional client.
The project will be developed by Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, Inc. ("P3RE"), a seasoned life science commercial real estate developer. The building will be converted into a state-of-the-art life science facility and rebranded as Genesis.
"Centennial Towers offers an exceptional opportunity to tap into the thriving life science market of the Bay Area," said Jamie Henderson, Chief Investment Officer, Alternative Investments Group at Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. "We are excited to support P3RE, whose market knowledge and niche expertise will help meet the submarket's robust demand for sophisticated life sciences campuses."
The South San Francisco submarket is one of the nation's top life sciences markets with over 100 biotech firms employing more than 14,000 people. The submarket's vacancy rate was 0% as of Q3 2015, while overall vacancies in the San Francisco Peninsula life science market were just 0.9%. With limited future supply projected, Centennial Towers is well-positioned to benefit from the market's highly favorable demand-supply fundamentals.
"There's an intrinsic quality that is right in-line with our life science vision," said Neil Fox, CEO of P3RE. "The design and construction is spectacular. We're going to do something the market has never seen before; this project will set the new bar for laboratory research space."
Centennial Towers is located within a one-mile radius of major biotech and life sciences companies, including Genentech and Amgen. It offers easy access to Highway 101, which links downtown San Francisco to Silicon Valley, and public transportation via the San Bruno Cal Train.
This project represents the fourth acquisition by P3RE this year under its strategy to acquire, manage, and reposition well-located properties in select core life science markets on the West Coast. The borrower was represented by HFF's debt placement team, which was led by senior managing director Tim Wright, managing director Todd Sugimoto and director Zack Holderman.
About Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers
Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC, with subsidiary and affiliate offices in the U.S., UK, Europe, and Asia, is one of the largest global real estate investment managers. It provides core and value-added investment and advisory services, including a comprehensive suite of private and public real estate debt, equity and securities expertise and services, to institutional and other qualified investors around the globe. Cornerstone is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. For more information, visit www.cornerstoneadvisers.com.
About Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, Inc.
Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, Inc. (P3RE) is a progressive real estate company dedicated to fostering the growth of the life science community by providing premiere, Class A environments that meet the needs of companies today and in the future. P3RE's properties are located in the epicenters of the life science markets in San Diego and San Francisco. These are innovative urban centers for the life sciences, and represent two of the top three life science clusters in the world.
SOURCE Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers
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