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Investment Groups Buy
Bridgewater Place
MiBiz, January 17, 2001 - One of the newest and certainly the bluest building on the
downtown Grand Rapids skyline has new owners. Two investment groups - The Granger Group of Companies and Silver Hawk Properties - have aquired Bridgewater Place for
an undisclosed amount. CB Richard Ellis facilitated the sale for New York Life Insurance
Co. and California Public Employees Retirement Systems (CALPERS).
Grooters Development Co. built the 17-story office complex in 1993. New York Life and
CALPERS purchased Bridgewater Place in 1998. Although neither side would release
the purchase price in this latest acquisition, the property is assessed by the city of
Grand
Rapids at $20 million. Computed by city officials, that number usually
equates to
one-half of true market value.
Price may not have been the determining issue at the bargaining table. CB Richard Ellis
President Van W. Martin said his firm's ability to secure a 10-year lease extension in
December with Bridgewater's largest tenant, Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett
LLP, was the dealmaker in the negotiations. In addition to extending its lease for a
decade, the law firm, which already occupies five floors and 81,400 square feet of the
structure, will also expand its offices to the twelfth floor for a total floor plan of nearly
100,000 square feet. Varnum will also have a right of first refusal to lease additional
space in the building, as it becomes available.
Said Martin, "Securing a long-term commitment with a tenant of this caliber makes
an
important business statement to the business community. Varnum's decision to
remain
at Bridgewater Place will insure the continued viatality of the project well
into the millennium."
Varnum's fellow tenants at Bridgewater Place include some of the more prestigious
names in Grand Rapids businesses. They include Paine Webber, MICHCON, Deloitte
& Touche and Plante & Moran.
The Granger Group is headquartered in Lansing, with an office in Grand Rapids.
Company President Gary Granger told MiBizWest that while the Bridgewater Place
acquisition may be his firm's first big real estate move into the Grand Rapids area, it
won't be the last. In fact, Granger said people should not be surprised to see the
company buying more property in the very near future.
"We are involved in several developments in the greater Grand Rapids area, Zeeland,
Holland and Kalamazoo. We are very committed to this area," he said. "I really think
that the business hub of Michigan and the place where a lot of activity starts and is up
and running is the Grand Rapids marketplace."
