RICHMOND, Va. — Months after narrowly avoiding foreclosure, a downtown office complex is on the hunt for a new owner.
The three-building, 1 million-square-foot James Center at 901, 1021 and 1051 E. Cary St. was listed for sale earlier this month by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, a Pittsburgh-based brokerage that earlier this year helped land a buyer for another prominent Richmond office tower.
Marketing materials for the James Center sale recently began to be circulated. The properties are listed without an asking price.
The James Center is owned by GMACC 2006 C1 East Cary Street LLC, an entity tied to LNR Partners. LNR took control of the James Center in March in a deal that transferred the property’s deed in lieu of foreclosure. LNR did not return a request for comment on this story.
That change in ownership was a result of the James Center’s previous owner, an LLC tied to JEMB Realty of New York, defaulting on two loans totaling $150 million. JEMB had owned the James Center since 2005 after paying $184.4 million for the entire complex, according to city records. The properties were most recently assessed by the city at a total of $123.6 million.
HFF would not comment for this story, but talk of the listing has already begun amongst local brokers.
“The whisper on the street is offers at $100 million or higher will be considered,” said Mark Douglas, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.
Douglas said there will be sizeable demand for the James Center but a deal of its size likely couldn’t be done by a local player alone.
The James Center’s three buildings have 330,000 square feet of vacant space, fueled largely by One James Center’s 213,000 and Three James Center’s 98,000 square feet of available space.
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