Bridge Investment Group’s subsidiary Bridge Office Fund Manager LLC (Bridge Office) announced today the acquisition of Sawgrass Technology Park (STP), a 514,332-square-foot, 11-building office complex in Sunrise, Fla. Known for its unique Mediterranean-style architectural design, lush lakes and pristine landscaping, the 56-acre park is surrounded by a bevy of premier shopping, dining and entertainment destinations that make it one of the most professionally amenitized office buildings in South Florida.
Bridge plans to invest more than $5 million in capital improvements across the campus, including a new tenant-exclusive amenity facility that will host a gourmet café, state-of-the-art fitness center, flexible lounge and other on-site services. Cosmetic renovations to the lobbies, common areas and exterior of several buildings will also take place as part of Bridge’s proven repositioning strategy for creating desirable, next-generation workspaces.
Located on Sunrise Boulevard and just one exit north of the confluence of South Florida’s three major highways (Sawgrass Expy., I-75, I-595), Sawgrass Technology Park sits at the entrance to the 612-acre Sawgrass International Corporate Park. The booming Sawgrass Park submarket currently boasts the lowest vacancy rate in Broward County (5.3 percent), with the new owners expected to benefit from steadily rising rents and a slew of new mixed-use developments in the surrounding neighborhood.
The nearby destinations include the soon-to-be completed Metropica development, a $1.5 billion, 65-acre mixed-use project across the street from STP, featuring nearly 500,000 square feet of restaurants, bars and high-street retail, more than 2,200 residential units and a 240-room luxury boutique hotel. The campus is also in close proximity to Sawgrass Mills Mall and is within a 5-minute drive of 62 restaurants and bars, more than 500 hotel rooms, nearly 300 retail shops and two movie theaters.
Originally built in 1985, Sawgrass Technology Park is currently 76 percent occupied. Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the operating company for Bridge Office, will oversee all leasing, property management and redevelopment work at STP.
“The acquisition of Sawgrass Technology Park presents a rare value-add opportunity in a high-growth urban-suburban market featuring walkable amenities and robust employment growth,” said Kelly Kuykendall, Director, Asset Management for Bridge Investment Group. “With limited speculative development in the region and no new construction occurring within the Sawgrass Park submarket, we anticipate favorable conditions for rent growth and long-term asset value increase in the years ahead. Bridge is pleased to expand our footprint in South Florida to over 1 million square feet and looks forward to creating an environment that will allow our new tenants to thrive.”
Considered a fast-rising player in the U.S. commercial office market, Bridge has been increasingly active in the market this year. Bridge closed on more than 6 million square feet of office space nationally in 2018 alone, including the recent acquisitions of Station Square in Silver Spring, Md., The Campus at Sunrise in Reston, Va., Denver West Business Park in West Denver, Co., Lenox Park in Atlanta, Ga., and O’Hare International Center in Rosemont, Ill.
Office spaces ranging from 18,000 to 63,000 square feet are currently available. Renovations will begin immediately, with the first phase expected to be completed in 2019. Leasing will be led by Deanna Lobinsky with Cushman and Wakefield.
About Bridge Investment Group
Bridge is a privately held real estate investment management firm with over $13.5 billion in assets under management. Bridge combines its more than 2600-person, nationwide operating platform with specialized teams of investment professionals focused on select US real estate verticals, which Bridge believes offer above-market opportunity: Multifamily; Office; Seniors Housing and Medical Properties, Affordable Housing and Real Estate Debt Strategies.
Bridge principals are owners and operators who are deeply rooted in their assets. In-depth knowledge of local markets, as well as extensive real asset and capital markets expertise, enable Bridge to develop prolific deal flow and to deploy active asset management and monitoring across its business lines.
Bridge’s asset management strategy is specialized and focused in a way that emphasizes current income and capital appreciation while mitigating risk. By making improvements that build lasting communities, increase renter satisfaction, and ultimately bring value to investors, Bridge seeks to create alpha at the asset level.
The principals of Bridge have been investing in and improving communities around the US since 1991 and manage private equity funds, separately managed account vehicles, co-investments, and joint ventures. Bridge seeks to transform assets in a manner that maximizes their potential.
