Principal Real Estate Investors and The Martin Group Enter Joint Venture Agreement
March 3, 2008 (Des Moines, Iowa) — Principal Real Estate Investors, the fourth largest manager of real estate assets in the U.S. based on tax-exempt assets under management1, and The Martin Group of Companies, one of the most active real estate developers in California, announced today that they have entered into a venture to develop new office projects in the Silicon Valley market.
The first will be located in Moffett Business Park at 399 W. Java Drive, immediately adjacent to the Yahoo! Headquarters and the Valley's mass transit rail line. The new building, to be completed in 2010, is proposed to incorporate 200,000 square feet of Class-A high tech office space and is being designed to achieve a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. RMW Architects of San Jose have been hired to design the building, and DEVCON Construction, Inc. will be the general contractor. Christian Marent of CBRE will be the leasing broker.
The second will be located in Sunnyvale, CA at 384 Santa Trinita Avenue, just off Lawrence Expressway at Arques Ave. The new building, also to be completed in 2010, is proposed to incorporate 100,000 square feet of Class-A high tech office space with a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. DEVCON Construction, Inc. has been hired as the design-build general contractor. Mike Connor of NAIBT Commercial will be the leasing broker.
"These new projects with The Martin Group represent an important relationship for Principal Real Estate Investors. They allow us to expand our investments in the growing Silicon Valley market," said Rod Vogel, managing director of acquisitions and asset management for Principal Real Estate Investors. "We believe this partnership will allow us to create a number of well-located and well-designed office buildings that will fill a valuable niche in the central Silicon Valley market, providing fast growing companies modern, environmentally sound workplaces for their employees."
"We are beginning a new generation of development in Silicon Valley," said J. David Martin, Chairman of The Martin Group of Companies. "Having founded The Martin Group in the Valley in 1984 and having actively participated in its growth for nearly 25 years, we have been involved in virtually all of the product cycles. During the 1980's, we developed mostly one-story tilt-up buildings. During the 1990's, we created multi-story tilt-up buildings. Today, as the market and many of the tech companies we serve have matured, we are proud to be creating a new generation of well-designed Class A, steel-frame, LEED certified projects. Our partnership with Principal Real Estate Investors allows us to take a leadership role in fulfilling this important mission."
About The Martin Group of Companies
The Martin Group was founded in 1984 by its Chairman, J. David Martin. Since that time, it has developed a portfolio of nearly $4 billion of real estate assets including office, retail, residential and mixed-use developments throughout California. Some of its more notable projects include Emery Bay, a $400M mixed-use redevelopment of the Emeryville, CA waterfront, Hamilton Field, a $300M mixed-use development of a former Army Air Base in Novato, CA and 1100 Wilshire, a $200M redevelopment of a 37 story office building in downtown Los Angeles. For more information, please see www.TheMartinGroup.com
About Principal Real Estate Investors
Principal Real Estate Investors is the fourth largest institutional real estate manager in the United States based on tax-exempt assets under management and manages or subadvises $44.8 billion in commercial real estate assets. The firm's real estate capabilities include both public and private equity and debt investment alternatives. Principal Real Estate Investors is the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors, a diversified asset management organization and a member of the Principal Financial Group®.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)2 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $311.1 billion in assets under management3 and serves some 18.6 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
1) Ranked by U.S. institutional tax-exempt assets, out of 50 managers profiled, as of June 30, 2006. "Real Estate Managers," PENSIONS & INVESTMENTS, Oct. 16, 2006.
2) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
3) As of December 31, 2007.
