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Insurance industry

Parkway Properties Acquires Town Point Center in Downtown Norfolk

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

In a significant real estate deal, Parkway Properties, a real estate investment trust from Jackson, Miss., has purchased Town Point Center, a 12-story office building in downtown Norfolk, for $10.45 million. The sale, announced by Gresh Wall, vice president of investment sales at Divaris Real Estate Inc., marks a new chapter for the property, which had been owned by UNUM Life Insurance Co. since the early 1990s. Parkway Properties, which already owns office buildings in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, paid approximately $80 per square foot for the 130,000-square-foot building, a rate consistent with recent sales of class A offices in downtown Norfolk.

Key Takeaways:

  • Parkway Properties, a REIT from Jackson, Miss., acquired Town Point Center, a 12-story office building in downtown Norfolk, for $10.45 million.
  • The sale was facilitated by Gresh Wall, vice president of investment sales at Divaris Real Estate Inc.
  • The building, owned by UNUM Life Insurance Co. since the early 1990s, was previously managed by Divaris Real Estate.
  • Approximately 23 percent of the building's 130,000 square feet of leasable space is still vacant, despite recent rent increases.
  • Parkway Properties paid around $80 per square foot, a rate consistent with recent sales of class A offices in downtown Norfolk.
  • The building's tenants include law firms, an accounting firm, and a unit of paper manufacturer Union Camp Corp.
  • Divaris Real Estate will continue to manage the building following the sale.
  • Parkway Properties also owns the Greenbrier Towers office buildings in Chesapeake and the Lynnwood Plaza office building in Virginia Beach.
  • UNUM became the owner of Town Point Center in the early 1990s after foreclosing on Jonathan Corp., a defunct ship-repair company.

Statistics:

  • Price paid for Town Point Center: $10.45 million
  • Square footage of the building: 130,000 square feet
  • Leasable space vacancy rate: approximately 23 percent
  • Rent increase: from $16.50 to $18 per square foot
  • Purchase price paid per square foot: around $80

Sources:

  • Divaris Real Estate Inc. (no date)
  • Gresh Wall, vice president of investment sales (no date)
  • Divaris Real Estate (no date)
  • TimesDaily (no date)
  • Wall, G. (no date) (quoted in article)

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