Onyx Equities LLC, a New Jersey-based real estate investment and management company, has closed out an active year in Westchester County with its purchase of a 335,000-square-foot, two-building office complex where PepsiCo Inc. has temporary headquarters on the Platinum Mile in White Plains.
A newly formed Onyx affiliate, Westpark Associates NY LLC, has acquired 1111 and 1129 Westchester Ave. from their long-time owner in Melville, Long Island, Westpark Associates I LLC. The ownership group was led by Lawrence A. Levine, managing partner at Melville Industrial Associates.
The $56.6 million sale was announced by Matthew Keefe, president of HK Group in Westport, Conn., the sole broker in the deal.
Keefe said the complex deal took three years to complete. It includes a Section 1031 exchange in which the seller”™s group this month will acquire a hotel in Houston, Texas, at the sale price of the Class A office properties in White Plains. Keefer said the seller”™s group owns three other hotels.
PepsiCo Inc. for two years has subleased 234,000 square feet of space at 1111 Westchester Ave., where about 700 employees were moved during a scheduled 2½-year renovations project at the food and beverage giant”™s permanent headquarters on Anderson Hill Road in Purchase. The building was vacated about three years ago by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. when the company relocated about 800 employees to its new Harbor Point headquarters in Stamford, Conn. PepsiCo when leasing the swing space said it would spend about $10 million to renovate it.
John LaValley, vice president of investments at Onyx Equities in Woodbridge, N.J., in an email to the Business Journal said PepsiCo “has not provided any insight into their plan for 1111-1129 Westchester Avenue after their Purchase campus is complete. However, we believe 1111-1129 is a great strategic location for PepsiCo because of its accessibility, visibility from I-287 and unmatched physical quality.”
JAG Footwear, Accessories and Retail Corp., formerly Nine West Footwear Corp., has its headquarters at 1129 Westchester Ave. The downsized shoe company subleased its space at 1111 Westchester to PepsiCo.
LaValley said the property is in excellent physical condition and is maintained and operated by the tenant, JAG Footwear.
Asked what made the deal an attractive investment to Onyx, LaValley said, “1111-1129 Westchester Avenue is one of the best office buildings in all of Westchester. The building has been 100 percent leased for over twenty years. We believe the property will maintain its top ranking and continue to attract the best tenants in the market.”
Onyx Equities in early 2014 regained ownership at 1311 Mamaroneck Ave., formerly the Parker Corporate Center, an approximately 326,000-square-foot office park complex in White Plains, after its previous owner defaulted on a $52 million mortgage loan.
Onyx sold the property in 2008 for approximately $81.8 million, after paying approximately $13.9 million in early 2007 for the three-building office complex near Saxon Woods.
Onyx has begun a $4 million renovation project at the Mamaroneck Avenue property.
Comments 1