Steelbridge Capital, in conjunction with Cushman & Wakefield, today announced that SunTrust Center, Steelbridge’s most recent acquisition spanning 270,000 square feet in a two-building Class A office/retail complex located in the center of Fort Lauderdale’s downtown famed Las Olas Boulevard, will undergo renovations and rebranding of a scale unseen during this economic cycle.
Cushman & Wakefield’s office leasing team of Executive Director Travis Herring, Executive Director Deanna Lobinsky, Director Katherine Ridgway and Associate Chase Kulpwill assist Steelbridge Capital in rebranding, reintroducing and marketing the renowned Fort Lauderdale office complex.
Steelbridge will rename the iconic asset Las Olas Square, a testament to its prominence in the region and position as a unique central square serving as the community epicenter for tenants and local residents alike in the bustling live/work/play corridor of Broward’s Central Business District.
Las Olas Square is today comprised of SunTrust Center at Las Olas Square, a 17-story office tower at 515 East Las Olas Boulevard, and 501 at Las Olas Square, a three-story office and retail building at 501 East Las Olas Boulevard. The design of this central square is being led by Fort Lauderdale-based Threshold Landscape Architecture, with inspiration from the likes of renowned urban community spaces such as Copley Square and Quincy Market in Boston and Union Square and Rockefeller Center in New York. This urban square, replete with abundant seating and Wi-Fi, will provide a park-like setting with seating for tenants of Las Olas Square, as well as anticipated future cafés and ground floor restaurant spaces.
Extensive improvements are also being planned at 501 at Las Olas Square, which, until Steelbridge Capital’s acquisition earlier this year, served as the regional headquarters for SunTrust Bank since the early 1970s. Coral Gables-based EofA has been engaged to completely redesign this three-story office property into a unique, boutique style mixed-use building that includes replacing the Brutalist-style concrete exterior in favor of a clean and contemporary, all-impact glass exterior that provides improved visibility and an enormous amount of natural light. Plans also include a new lobby, as well as all new interiors, mechanical and life-safety systems.
SunTrust Bank will maintain a branch in a portion of the ground floor, leaving approximately 8,000 square feet of prime retail space fronting Las Olas Boulevard. This rare offering provides remarkable visibility, as well as soaring 18-foot ceiling heights and, along with seating in the central square, is ideally suited for a marquis restaurant. Miami Beach’s Comras Company has been retained to specifically market the restaurant/retail space in 501 at Las Olas Square.
“Upon completion of the multi-million dollar renovation of 501 at Las Olas Square, this building will offer the most modern, creative and high-end office space delivered on Las Olas since 2002,” said Jay Caplin, Managing Principal of Steelbridge Capital.
SunTrust Center at Las Olas Square will also receive significant common area and lobby renovations. The acclaimed architecture firm of CallisonRTKL will lead the redesign of the lobby, amenities and common areas with a focus on providing a timeless, contemporary design that is unlike any of the other nearby Class A office assets on Las Olas Boulevard. Improvements to Las Olas Square are scheduled to begin in April 2017.
“We are taking what was good and returning it to great“, said Steelbridge Managing Principal, Michael Manno, “Las Olas Square will once again represent the best of what Las Olas has to offer — great restaurants, modern office spaces and, of course, spectacular views of the Atlantic, New River and surrounding CBD.”
“This is a great example of new urbanism real estate,” said Gavin Campbell, Managing Principal at Steelbridge. “Las Olas has for some time needed a central community plaza that supports its emerging status as a 24-hour downtown, and we are delighted to provide that.”
“Las Olas Square will cater to the discriminating tenant that demands a distinctive Las Olas address, along with a modern and innovative workplace,” added Herring.
About Steelbridge Capital
Steelbridge Capital is a Chicago- and Miami-based value focused real estate investor and real estate services provider, with special expertise in markets with high job growth and strong natural barriers to entry like Florida. It is dedicated to acquiring real estate — either through debt or equity or private or public markets — whose values have been temporarily discounted due to supply/demand imbalances in real estate capital, space or information markets and whose values can be significantly enhanced through redevelopment and repositioning. Please visit us at www.steelbridgecapital.com.
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 and occupiers 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
