FEATURE ARTICLE, OCTOBER 2006

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Office and industrial parks are being developed and redeveloped across the Southeast.
Daniel Beaird

Southeast Real Estate Business recently spoke with some developers about their new office and industrial park projects. Featured in this article are Northcreek Associates’ Northcreek Office Park in Atlanta; Oceana Development’s Oceana East Industrial Park and Progress Lane Business Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia; Fairwood Office Park in Bowie, Maryland; and 595 Corporate Park of Commerce in Davie, Florida.

Northcreek Office Park

Northcreek Office Park has recently been renovated. Built in phases in 1971 and 1979, Northcreek Office Park began its multi-million dollar renovation in 2004. The 41-acre, 530,000-square-foot office park is located on Northside Parkway in the Buckhead submarket of Atlanta. The wooded campus is surrounded by high-end homes and situated near thriving retail districts. Its accessibility to Interstate 75 at the West Paces and Mount Paran Road interchanges is also an attraction.

Northcreek Associates owns the office property while Barry Real Estate Companies and Hines Interests are responsible for leasing the space. Leasing proved to be a challenge during the renovation process. However, Northcreek’s location and the recent renovation make it a great value in the market and leasing has increased post-construction. Current tenants include Yahoo, AON Service Corporation, Media Solutions, American Southern Insurance, Regency Realty, Coro Realty Advisors, Timbervest and Tatum Partners.

Northcreek Office Park consists of a four-building campus with each building containing eight stories. Amenities include a café, a fitness center, 24-hour security, free covered parking and on-site management. Originally one of the premier office spaces in Atlanta, it was necessary for Northcreek Office Park to undergo a renovation due to the age of the original structures. The renovation project resulted in essentially four brand new office buildings, raising the quality level of the area. Renovations included improvements to the buildings’ exteriors, common areas, bathrooms, HVAC systems, elevators and the surrounding landscape.

“The renovation has left Northcreek in better condition today than when it was built,” says Andy Sumlin of Barry Real Estate Companies. Northcreek is currently 50 percent occupied and has availability of up to 200,000 square feet for lease. Office sizes range from 1,500 to 51,000 square feet. Northcreek is currently being leased for $17.50 per square foot.

Oceana East Industrial Park / Progress Lane Business Park

Oceana Development and Atlantic Builders are expanding Oceana East Industrial Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This $50 million, build-to-suit expansion is a ground-up development that is situated on 71 acres and broken down into 12 parcels. The 16-acre Phase I began construction in September while the 55-acre Phase II is scheduled to begin construction in 2007. “This expansion represents a 30 percent increase in developable land within Oceana East,” says Donald Maxwell, economic development director for the city of Virginia Beach. The expansion area has been named Progress Lane Business Park.

Oceana East Industrial Park has been geared typically to growing small businesses that fall within the Navy guidelines due to its proximity to NAS Oceana. Facilities can be owned or leased and vary from a leased space of 600 square feet to more than 75,000 square feet of owned space. Due to its proximity to NAS Oceana, it is zoned I-1 and has APZ II air restrictions so that its most acceptable uses are manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities.

This expansion has been typical to most commercial projects that have to weather through the turbulent real estate market including land banking through slower periods. Recently, the industrial park endured the stress of the 18-month long London Bridge Road expansion project. Due to the close location to NAS Oceana, increased communications with both the city of Virginia Beach and the Navy are necessary to ensure compliance with all interested party’s requirements.

Jerrold Miller, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and a member of the Virginia Beach Development Authority, is the owner of Oceana East Industrial Park, acquiring the land in 1996 from Bill Walker. Walker acquired 165 acres of land in 1985, envisioning a commercial property. Walker works with Miller today to help that vision come true. As Miller continues to develop this small business industrial park, available land is becoming increasingly in short supply around the area. The new park has given renewed life to those looking to expand within the industrial park and those seeking to relocate to a quality location in Virginia Beach.

The development site is bordered by the C-2 canal, which parallels the eastern side of Lynnhaven Parkway and includes a natural wetland and Chesapeake Bay buffer for a nearby residential community. Companies already located within Oceana East Industrial Park include Morphix Technologies, London Bridge Trading, Beach Ford, Atlantic Builders, Paramount Builders, Dynamic Systems Integration, U.S. Post Office Bulk Handling Facility, Custom Stone, Progressive Insurance, Krauss Corporation, Closet Factory and Stanley Steemer.

Fairwood Office Park

W.F. Chesley Real Estate has sold out its Fairwood Office Park in Bowie, Maryland. Groundbreaking for the 100,000-square-foot office development, located on Route 450, took place this summer, and delivery is anticipated in fall 2007. Plans call for two buildings and a third building is being considered, all on 7 acres of land. “The interest in Fairwood has been phenomenal,” says Bill Chesley of W.F. Chesley Real Estate. “We see Prince Georges County, Maryland, as one of the region’s office space growth markets in the next few years.” Most interest and sales for the high-end, suburban, Class A buildings have come from medical office users.

“The impetus for the project was a lack of high quality office space with medical use for ownership,” Chesley says. “The project will meet the needs of medical and general office users who wish to own office space.”

Fairwood Office Park will offer state-of-the-art HVAC systems as well as structure and surface parking facilities. Columbia, Maryland-based Ron Brasher, Architects designed the $23 million office property. 

595 Corporate Park of Commerce

Situated on 42 acres at the intersection of Interstate 595 and Nob Hill Road in Davie, Florida, is 595 Corporate Park of Commerce. REMS Group is developing the 523,000-square-foot office park, which is designed to cater to a wide variety of businesses. The complex includes office-only suites, retail/showroom layouts, flex space units in various office/warehouse configurations, and dock-high warehouse modules. Phase I is under construction. 

The buildings in 595 Corporate Park of Commerce are built smarter, stronger and to hurricane safety code in South Florida. The business park’s location is just more than 7 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a 30-minute drive from both Miami and Boca Raton, Florida. It is Broward County’s only master-planned commercial park that provides such a centralized location with exposure from the east and westbound lanes of the highly trafficked thoroughfare of I-595.

Four layouts are available in single and multiples of double, quad or full level. The park offers front and rear loading, street-level docks for flex warehouse/office spaces in 2,000-square-foot models. Rear-loading, truck-level docks are offered for full warehouse spaces in 4,000-square-foot models.

Amenities include individual signage for each owner, durable tilt-wall concrete construction, underground utilities, ample parking, storm-proof glazing, a fire sprinkler system, an open-air relaxation area, professional property management, and a private lake.

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