Bridge Investment Groups buys WestMark Office Park in Henrico County

Published February 13, 2017 by Paula C. Squires

Bridge Investment Group has purchased WestMark Office Park, a 416,311-square-foot, two-building office complex in Henrico County for an undisclosed price.

Bridge acquired the Class A property with equity partner Mandalay-CRE Venture II from RER/New Boston West Broad LLC. According to Jeff Cooke, a senior vice president with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer in Richmond, RER/New Boston has owned the building since 2004, when it purchased the complex from Capital One Financial Corp.   Thalhimer, in conjunction with Cushman & Wakefield’s Washington, D.C., Capital Markets Group,  represented RER/New Boston in the transaction.

Through the years, the WestMark buildings have been the corporate home of some of Richmond’s largest employers including Capital One, MeadWestvaco and Altria.
WestMark One has 211,689 square feet while WestMark Two has 204,662 square feet. Bridge Investment said the property will be renamed SunTrust Center when SunTrust takes occupancy of the entire WestMark One building later this year.

“This acquisition is a great example of Bridge Investment’s  strategy of purchasing well-located, high-quality office properties and making strategic capital improvements to enhance the tenant experience and increase asset value,” Jeff Shaw, CEO of Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the office operating subsidiary of Bridge Investment Group, said  in a statement.

Located on a 40-acre campus at 11000 West Broad Street within the Innsbrook office submarket, WestMark Office Park provides access to I-64, I-295, I-95 and Route 288. The property also gives tenants access to a many retail offerings, including the 1.2-million-square-foot Short Pump Town Center mall and 650,000-square-foot West Broad Village town center complex.

Bridge Investment said it will invest in extensive renovations, including improvements to lobbies, common areas and the exterior façade. WestMark One will be 100% leased upon SunTrust’s occupancy. WestMark Two is currently 80% occupied. 

With the acquisition, Bridge Investment Group LLC now owns 38 office properties in major U.S. office markets. In November, Bridge Investment Group of Salt Lake City, Utah, acquired Fairlead Commercial Real Estate of Atlanta, led by principals Jeff Shaw and John Ward, who are now both principals at Bridge Commercial Real Estate.  The privately held real estate investment management firm said it has $6.7 billion in assets under management.