Pier 1 Imports Tower
When Hines announced Aug. 12 it was purchasing the 20-story Chesapeake Plaza on the west side of downtown Fort Worth, the Houston-based commercial real estate firm did not provide a price. Now we know that Hines borrowed $58 million to finance the purchase of the 460,000-square-foot office building. CBRE Capital Markets announced today it worked on behalf of Hines to obtain a loan for its acquisition of the property and BBVA Compass provided the floating rate financing of $58 million.
Pier 1 sold the building to Chesapeake for $104 million in 2008 as the headquarters for the energy firm’s Barnett Shale drilling and production operations. Chesapeake put the building on the market in 2012 as the Oklahoma-based company began focusing on more liquids-rich drilling properties in other parts of the country. It is currently valued at $68.8 million on the Tarrant Appraisal District property tax rolls. The building will be renamed the Pier 1 Imports Building. Greg Greene and Scott Lewis, with CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance team in Dallas, led the financing effort on behalf of the borrower. “The Pier 1 Imports Building is an iconic office tower anchored by a strong tenant,” said Greene. “The transaction greatly benefited from Hines’ successful track record and expertise, as well as an increasingly positive outlook for Pier 1 Imports. BBVA Compass’s great respect for the building, Hines and Pier 1 Imports, and understanding of the deal’s many strengths, helped win the financing opportunity.”