(PRWEB) August 21, 2006 -- Equastone has announced the acquisition of Centennial Towers, a six-story, 155,000 square foot, Class B office building, with a four-story parking garage, located at 505 E. Huntland Drive in Austin, Texas. Equastone and an affiliate purchased the property from Morgan Stanley as tenants in common and the purchase price was not disclosed. The building was 80% occupied at acquisition and tenants include Outreach Health Services, TRC Environmental, Gresham Enterprise Storage, and Kellogg, Brown and Root.

Centennial Towers is located in Austin’s highly desirable central office market. The area is attractive for office tenants due to its accessibility and proximity to executive and employee housing and major retail amenities. The overall Austin office market absorbed approximately 800,000 square feet of office space in the second quarter of 2006, decreasing the vacancy rate to just under 14%.

Equastone Chief Investment Officer Jeff Schindler said, “Centennial Towers is a quality asset in an ideal location. Austin is expected to attract more than 30,000 new residents this year – the highest expansion rate in the nation. Employers are anticipated to create 35,000 new jobs – a 5.1% increase, plus Samsung has announced a major expansion of their operations. All economic indicators point to the Austin market tightening. We plan to get the building completely leased up within the next 20 months.”

John Alvarado of Trammell Crow Company and Derek Land of Stream Realty Partners both represented the seller in the transaction. Derek Land, Matt Frizzell and Rachel Coulter of Stream Realty have been awarded the leasing assignment for the property and will also provide property management services.

Centennial Towers is the sixth property acquired by Equastone in the Austin market. In May 2006, the firm acquired a 436,190 square foot portfolio consisting of five office/flex properties also from Morgan Stanley. Since October 2005, Equastone has acquired 10 value-add office and flex buildings in Texas that total more than 1.3 million square feet. To manage Equastone’s growing Texas portfolio, in June 2006, Equastone announced the opening of its new Texas regional office located in Houston and the addition of Clint Harrington as Executive Vice President.

Equastone Chairman David Bourne said, “Although the overall U.S. economy emerged from its most recent downturn late in 2001, until recently, jobs growth in Texas has been sluggish and there has been minimal demand for office space. As a result, the value of office and flex buildings has fallen dramatically and we are able to acquire properties at well below replacement value. With the Texas economy now on an upswing, thanks to strong economic fundamentals and the impact of high oil and gas prices, we are experiencing strong leasing activity and achieving above pro forma rental rates. Furthermore, given recent increases in material and labor costs, we’re confident that new office buildings will not be constructed until rental rates are significantly higher than current levels.”

Equastone is a private equity real estate firm specializing in acquiring and adding value to underperforming office and industrial properties in growth and recovery markets. Equastone currently currently owns and operates properties in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Texas.

The firm intends to invest $500 million in 2006 and is seeking investment opportunities in new markets including Oregon, Washington, Utah and New Mexico. Investment offerings should be directed to John Locke at jlocke @ equastone.com and Chris Stai at cstai @ equastone.com.

Equastone invests in and operates commercial real estate on behalf of Equastone Real Estate Funds. Equastone and its affiliates currently have offices in San Diego, California; Denver, Colorado; and Houston, Texas. For more information about Equastone and Equastone Real Estate Funds, call Mykel Sprinkles at 858/812-3261 or visit www.equastone.com.