Corporate headquarters purchase with a leaseback

Client
  • WAI
Space
  • 37,000 sq. ft.
Industry
Services Provided
Cresa Team Cresa Office

client objectives and results

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Client Objectives

WAI was consolidating and relocating its corporate headquarters from the northeast to South Florida. WAI needed space that could both accommodate HQ personnel and its distribution needs. They were looking for a real estate team to help them find a facility that:

  • Stabilized and fixed costs, while giving ownership control over to their headquarters;
  • Could retain employees and attract additional new hires; and
  • Was accessible to both the Miami-Dade and Broward county labor pool.

Results

With the help of Cresa’s local specialists, WAI was able to find a location that met its requirements. The team conducted an extensive search over a 12-month period and found several options that were suitable to WAI’s needs, but some of which needed extensive improvements. Cresa’s Miami industrial team found a property that was being marketed for sublease only; they approached the owner about a possible acquisition to which they were receptive.

WAI closed on the facility and retained the then-occupier as a tenant for a period. This threw off cash flow and gave WAI time to consolidate several of its other locations and finish out their lease obligation in the northeastern HQ without having to pay rent in two locations. The Cresa team’s ability to negotiate the acquisition of the property, as opposed to a sublease, got WAI into a better economic deal that ended up being a better option than a leasehold.