CS Ventures pays $36M for West Palm office building

CS Ventures scooped up Clearlake Plaza in West Palm Beach for $35.9 million, marking the investment firm’s first wager on the city’s office market.

CS Ventures, a partnership between Spencer Schlager and Charles Rosenberg, bought the 10-story building at 500 South Australian Avenue from a pair of entities led by Herbert Kahlert, according to records. CS Ventures’ affiliate took out a $20 million loan tied to the properties from Northern Trust Company.

Clearlake Plaza, built in 1985 and renovated in 2018, is on a 1.4-acre lot that includes a 650-car garage, property records and LoopNet show. The purchase also included the nearby 0.6-acre parking lot at 500 Clearwater Park Road.

Both the building and the parking lot last traded in 2001 for $12.8 million, according to records.

Although this is CS Ventures’ debut in West Palm, the firm is not new to the area. It has for years invested in Palm Beach, where it has accumulated six properties, according to Schlager.

In April, CS Ventures scooped up a pair of office buildings at 340 and 350 Royal Palm Way, along the ritzy town’s Bankers Row, for a combined $35 million. The partnership also dropped $38 million last year for the building at 440 Royal Palm Way, also along Bankers Row.

The firm’s other holdings in Palm Beach include the office building at 324 Royal Palm Way, purchased for $18.5 million last year, records show.

CS Ventures, formed in 2018, is based in Palm Beach. Rosenberg also is affiliated with New York-based Rosemark Management. The firm is the Arthur G. Cohen Family Office’s investment manager and purchaser, and Rosenberg’s LinkedIn lists him as Rosemark’s managing partner.

West Palm has gained a reputation as a growing office market, fueled by companies expanding or moving to the city. Downtown West Palm has been dubbed as “Wall Street South” in a nod to the influx of financial firms.

Stephen Ross’ Related Companies is considered downtown West Palm’s biggest office landlord, where it owns the pair of Phillips Point buildings, CityPlace Tower and a half-stake in Esperanté Corporate Center. Related also completed 360 Rosemary last year and has two more office buildings on tap in downtown: 515 Fern and One Flagler.

CS Ventures’ new West Palm property is near another of Ross’ holdings in the city, the Reflections office campus at 400 and 450 South Australian Avenue. Related, along with partners Key International and Wexford Real Estate Investors, bought the properties for $35 million in February.

The growth of West Palm as an office mecca has prompted others to invest there, as well. Babak Ebrahimzadeh’s Miami-based Florida Mastermind wants to build a 12-story office building with 150,000 square feet of space at 1545 Centrepark Drive North, outside downtown West Palm.