Wells REIT II makes first international investment

Global property adviser CB Richard Ellis has advised Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II, a EUR 2.7 bn American office REIT, on its first international investment: a nine-storey tower under construction in Moscow.

CBRE negotiated a joint venture between Wells REIT II and Russian developer Moscow Office Real Estate to buy Tower B at Dvintsev Business Center, a three-building complex under construction near the Third Ring beltway. The area, just six kilometres north of the Kremlin, is a popular location for international companies. Dvintsev Business Center Tower B will include 136,000 m² of leasable area and is scheduled for completion in late 2008. The acquisition will be partially financed through Bank ZENIT of Russia.

'This would be a fine office building anywhere in the world - but this one happens to be in a city of 14 million people that is desperately short of Class-A real estate,' said Darrell Stanaford, managing director of CB Richard Ellis Russia. 'We think that in five to seven years this area is going to be one of the most significant office submarkets in the nation, just as Russia is increasingly prominent as an international business destination.'

CBRE has been involved in the project for almost two years and is also advising on the leasing of the property. Marketing for potential tenants begins next month.