Bridge Investment Group buys Boca Raton office complex for $55M

Bridge Investment Group dropped $54.5 million on the Fountain Square office complex in Boca Raton in one of the area’s priciest office sales this year, property records show.

The 241,000-square-foot, Class A complex at 2600, 2650 and 2700 North Military Trail sold for about $226 per square foot.

A joint venture between affiliates of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment management firm Contrarian Capital Management LLC and NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. sold the office tower. The partnership operated under the company name Fountain Square Owner LLC, which paid $37 million for the property in 2013, records show.

The deal is one of the most expensive office sales to close in Boca Raton this year. In August, Office Depot paid $132 million for its headquarters at 6600 North Military Trail. The trade broke down to about $211 per square foot.

Christian Lee and Jose Lobon of CBRE and Neil Merin of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman represented the seller in the latest transaction.

Built in 1998, Fountain Square includes three buildings, located on Military Trail near Glades Road and the nearby I-95 and Florida Turnpike. The complex recently went through a multimillion-dollar renovation, according to a press release. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman helped push occupancy up to 90 percent during the time of the sale, an increase from 62 percent, the release added.

Bridge financed the deal with a $42 million loan from a company tied to Principal Real Estate Investors LLC, based in Des Moines Iowa, records show.

The firm manages $8.85 billion in multifamily, affordable housing, office properties, senior housing and medical properties, and debt strategies, according to its website. In September, Bridge paid $77.2 million for the Carlisle Palm Beach, a luxury senior living community in Lantana.