MIAMI – Feb. 18, 2016 – A team of Greenberg Traurig attorneys recently represented longtime client Invesco Advisers, Inc. in the joint venture purchase of seven industrial properties in South Florida, totaling 675,387 square feet. The deal closed Feb. 16, 2016.
Greenberg Traurig Miami shareholders Richard J. Giusto and Danielle Gonzalez connected longtime firm clients Invesco and Easton & Associates. Easton was represented on the transaction by Donald Rosenberg of Peckar & Abramson.
The purchase included seven industrial buildings, totaling 53.96 acres in Miami Lakes, Miami and Hollywood. The purchase also included the assumption of five loans from three different lenders (State Farm, Lincoln National and New York Life). After the sale, ownership was transferred to a newly created joint venture between Invesco and Easton. Easton retains a minority interest and will continue to manage and lease the properties.
“Having represented Easton & Associates for more than 30 years and Invesco for more than 20 years, we recognized the compatibility of these two companies and thought the partnership would be a natural match,” Giusto said.
The portfolio purchase highlights the continued strength of the industrial real estate market in Miami-Dade. Since the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014, Miami-Dade County has enhanced its position as the Gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean and has seen increased demand among Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) to purchase industrial space.
Giusto, Co-Managing Shareholder in the firm’s Miami office, and Gonzalez, a shareholder in the Miami Real Estate Practice, led the team of 11 attorneys representing three offices and four practice areas. The team included shareholders Brian L. Colborn (Delaware), Tracy H. Lautenschlager (Fort Lauderdale), Robert R. McDonald (Tallahassee), William R. Siegel (Miami); associates Kathryn R. Alvarez (Miami), John V. Chibbaro (Miami), Adam S. Fischer (Miami), Jason R. Kleiss (Miami), Ari B. Lustig (Delaware); and Miami paralegal Lauren Licata.
Invesco Real Estate is a global leader in the real estate investment management business with over $64.0 billion under management, 434 employees and 21 regional offices across Asia, Europe and the U.S. It was established in 1983 and has been actively investing in core, value-add and opportunistic real estate strategies since 1992. Invesco Real Estate is an investment center of Invesco Advisers, Inc., which is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., one of the largest investment management firms in the world with $775.6 billion in assets under management and on-the-ground presence in 25 cities worldwide. Information as of Dec. 31, 2015.