Online real estate company Ten-X is auctioning off a two-building office tower campus in the St. Louis area. Bidders will see on Oct. 5 which buyer will become the new owner of the property.
The sale of Park 270 — a 274,650-square-foot property located along Interstate-270 and owned by VFC Properties 41 — continues a growing trend: Owners have discovered that some commercial assets are ideal for selling in the auction format.
What makes a property a good fit for auction? Commercial buildings in highly visible areas, near strong transportation arteries and with plenty of amenities tend to fetch solid bids. And that’s what Park 270 offers. The hope on the part of owners, of course, is that auctioned properties will sell quickly for a solid price, with owners finding buyers in one quick shot.
“Park 270 presents investors with an opportunity to acquire a stabilized office campus in a strong market with value-add potential through leasing and increasing rents,” said Gordon Smith, general manager of Ten-X’s commercial real estate division.
Park 270 could use a bit of a refresher, but only a bit. Whichever owner buys the property at auction will have a clear path to making the office park more attractive for future tenants: Improvements should boost the buildings’ already strong appeal, Smith said.
“A new owner will have the opportunity to increase rental rates through modest upgrades at the property, which already benefits from its dynamic visibility and a West County location,” Smith said.
Ten-X is partnering with CBRE to market and sell the office buildings.
Ten-X is relying on a two-step process to sell Park 270. Interested buyers have to submit sealed bids by Sept. 12 to qualify for the online auction. The managed-bid part of the auction will take place Oct. 5. Interested buyers can take tours of Park 270 Sept. 1 and Sept. 8.
Located at 1801-1807 Park 270 Drive, the campus’ two five-story buildings were built in 1984 and 1987. The buildings have 26 tenatns for a combined occupancy rate of 90.5 percent. Hub City Terminals, which recently renewed its lease for six years and expanded its footprint to about 80,000 square feet, is the largest tenant in the facility.
Park 270 sits in St. Louis’ Westport Plaza Corridor within the West County office submarket. This is St. Louis’ most popular suburban submarket, consisting of about 16.1 million square feet of office space.