Colliers International will lease and manage James Center for new owner

Published March 30, 2016 by Paula C. Squires

LNR Partners LLC, a special servicer that has taken over ownership of the downtown Richmond James Center, has selected Colliers International as the exclusive leasing and management representative for the three-building office complex.

A foreclosure auction on the property scheduled on March 8 was canceled. The James Center was transferred to LNR Partners, a Miami Beach-based commercial mortgage special servicer on March 21, according to city records. The Richmond office of JLL served as the leasing agency before the transfer of ownership.

The building’s borrower, New-York based JEMB Realty, owed $150 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) debt on the loans, and those loans were in default once they passed the maturity date on March 10, according to Trepp LLC, a New York-based real estate analytics company.

While officials involved with the canceled auction were under the impression that loan modification discussions were underway, JEMB reportedly turned the keys over to the lender.

The James Center lost a major tenant last summer when the McGuireWoods law firm, which leased about 240,000 square feet, moved to a new office tower, Gateway Plaza, across the street.

Chris Wallace, Andrew Ferguson and Austin Newman of Colliers International | Richmond will handle negotiations on behalf of the landlord regarding leasing. Tim Allison, national executive managing director of Real Estate Management Services, will be the management point of contact and is located on-site.

Currently, there is about 330,790 square feet of available space between all three buildings, or about a third of the  three-tower James Center portfolio. It includes more than 986,000 square feet of Class A office space, a health club, five restaurants, a 1,400-car parking garage and a 50,000+/- square foot retail atrium that connects to the Omni Richmond Hotel. Located in the financial district, the James Center is a short walk from numerous dining, retail and hotel amenities as well as the state Capitol.

According to Colliers, LNR Partners is the world's largest commercial mortgage special servicer. It also offers real estate management services, mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, and mortgage-related assets services. It operates as a subsidiary of LNR Property LLC.