Challenge

6480 Busch Boulevard was vacated by Abbott Laboratories in 2017 and sat vacant for nearly two years. This property had major deferred maintenance issues and is situated in an office park with high vacancy. The building was listed with another national brokerage for a year and a half before Derek Lichtfuss and his team took over.

Action

Unsure whether to continue efforts to lease or to sell, the Newmark team listed the property for sale and lease and exhausted all options. The Newmark team targeted opportunity funds and opportunity zone investors with a national prospecting campaign. Derek Lichtfuss was able to uncover an opportunity fund out of Charlotte, NC, run by Grubb Properties. Grubb Properties purchased 6480 Busch in September of 2019.

Result

After successfully finding a buyer for the building, Newmark was consequently hired by Grubb Properties to represent leasing. The buyer has invested nearly $2.5 million into the property over the past 12 months to attract high caliber tenants. This opportunity led to Derek Lichtfuss of Newmark assisting on the acquisition of a second building in the Columbus, OH market for Grubb Properties.

An article regarding Grubb’s entrance in the Columbus market can be found here:

Charlotte real estate firm enters Columbus market with two big buys