Transaction Represents One Of The Largest Single Tenant Leasebacks Ever Completed in Suburban Dallas
Cushman & Wakefield announced today that the global real estate services firm represented Verizon on a purchase and leaseback transaction valued at $344.0 million for the 1.15-million-square foot Verizon Hidden Ridge campus in Irving, TX. The sale was effectuated through a transfer of the property to Mesirow Financial, along with a lease agreement for a new 20-year term which provided Verizon with $20 million worth of tenant improvements. In addition, the land was subdivided by Verizon with a portion being retained by Verizon for possible future development. The Cushman & Wakefield team was led by its Corporate Finance & Investment Banking group in combination with the company’s New York brokerage team.
Cushman & Wakefield acted as financial advisor and exclusive agent for Verizon on the transaction, which represents one of the largest single tenant leasebacks ever completed in suburban Dallas.
The campus, which currently houses approximately 2,800 full-time employees and contractors, but is expected to increase to 3,500 by year end, was acquired by Mesirow Realty Sale-Leaseback, Inc., a division of Mesirow Financial, a diversified financial services firm headquartered in Chicago. Verizon will continue to occupy the regional headquarters facility, and this transaction has no impact on the company’s business operations there. The transaction represents the second large Verizon sale-leaseback purchase by Mesirow in the past few years. In 2015, Mesirow purchased a 1.4 million-square foot Verizon operations center in Basking Ridge, NJ for $650.3 million.
The campus, a key to Verizon’s corporate presence in Texas, houses a full range of businesses within Verizon Communications, while serving as the South Central Market Headquarters for Verizon Wireless. In addition, the campus is adjacent to a 110-acre site owned by Verizon that has recently received approval to incorporate transit oriented development uses, which enables the potential development of a mix-used office park with a lifestyle core served by a planned DART rail stop just steps away from the Hidden Ridge campus.
“This transaction provides our company with immediate financial benefits and does so in a way that supports our continuing interests in the development of Las Colinas. The extension of our tenancy through a sale and restructured lease affirms the value we see of having located in such a dynamic area for so many years,"said John M. Vazquez, senior vice president and head of global real estate for Verizon. “Cushman & Wakefield achieved our strategic objectives by maximizing value and flexibility through the best possible deal structure.”
“This transaction allows us to deepen our commitment to the Texas market and consolidate employees at this world class facility while supporting further development options in the Hidden Ridge area,” said Jim Tousignant, director of global real estate for Verizon.
“We structured and executed a complex, multi-party transaction that created significant value for Verizon by optimizing financing terms for the purchaser through a carefully crafted, credit tenant lease,” said Jim Jordan, a Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director in the firm’s Corporate Finance and Investment Banking group. “This structure successfully delivers current and long-term value for both Verizon and Mesirow.”
“Cushman & Wakefield works closely with the outstanding team of professionals at Verizon to help the company meet its real estate-related goals,” said Josh Kuriloff, a Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chairman in the firm’s New York office brokerage group. “Thanks to our ability to partner with Verizon, we efficiently execute transactions that serve the company’s strategic priorities.”
The Cushman & Wakefield investment banking team included Jim Jordan, David Wenk, Robert Elms Mark Todrys, Maureen Kelly, Anthony Pasqual and Ben Lushing. They worked in conjunction with Mr. Kuriloff. Cushman & Wakefield maintains its relationship with Verizon through its Global Occupier Services (GOS) group.
The Verizon team was led by Mr. Vazquez and included James Tousignant and DJ Decker, as well as internal Verizon counsel Steven Cohen. Stroock, Stroock and Lavan served as counsel for Verizon under the leadership of Mark Hurel.
Mesirow Realty Sale-Leaseback, Inc. was led by Garry Cohen and Douglas Barker with legal representation by Goldberg Kohn.
Verizon and its predecessor company, GTE, has occupied the facility since its construction in 1991.
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. Our 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries help investors optimize the value of their real estate by combining our global perspective and deep local knowledge with an impressive platform of real estate solutions. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenue of $5 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facility services (C&W Services), global occupier services, investment & asset management (DTZ Investors), project & development services, tenant representation, and valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.
