March 26, 2009 - 5:01 pm (UTC)
Favorable Sales Create New Investment Opportunities
HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 26, 2009--
A&B Properties, Inc., the real estate subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin,
Inc. (NYSE:AXB) (“Company”), announced today that it has
completed the sale of Southbank II, a 120,800 square-foot, single-story
office building in Phoenix, Arizona, and a 37,300 square-foot ground
lease parcel in Kahului, Maui.
“The sale of Southbank and the Maui parcel demonstrate continuing demand
for quality, stable income properties and well-located land in Hawaii.
At Southbank, the recent execution of long term lease agreements and the
stable operating performance during our 11-year ownership, coupled with
the underlying appreciation of real estate values, resulted in the
disposition at a favorable price,” said Norbert M. Buelsing, president
of A&B Properties.
The Maui parcel was a ground lease within an industrial park that had
been previously developed by A&B. “The parcel sale is the culmination of
a multi-year strategy which consisted of land entitlement and investment
in subdivision development, and a program of lot and ground lease sales,
steps that together create value over time.”
Buelsing continued, “We continue to look for new opportunities to
further A&B’s core strategy of redeploying sales proceeds, on a
tax-advantaged basis, into high-quality, commercial properties in
markets that have a good growth potential.”
Southbank was built in 1997 and acquired by A&B in 1998. The property is
located in the Southbank Business Park, less than five miles from
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and downtown Phoenix, and with
direct access to Interstate 10. Tenants at the property include
University of Phoenix and Encore Legal Solutions.
The Maui parcel is located in central Kahului and was part of the A&B
Fairgrounds’ development in the early 1990s.
With the sale of Southbank, A&B Properties’ commercial
property/investment portfolio consists of 8.5 million square feet of
retail, office and industrial space located in Hawaii and eight mainland
states, including two office buildings in Phoenix. Additional
information about A&B Properties, Inc. may be found at its web site: www.abprop.com.
About Alexander & Baldwin: A&B
is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and is engaged in ocean
transportation and logistics services through its subsidiaries, Matson
Navigation Company, Inc., Matson Integrated Logistics, Inc. and Matson
Global Distribution Services; in real estate through A&B Properties,
Inc.; and in food products through Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company
and Kauai Coffee Company, Inc. Additional information about A&B may be
found at its web site: www.alexanderbaldwin.com.
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
“forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. These
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This
release should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form
10-K and our other filings with the SEC through the date of this
release, which identify important factors that could affect the
forward-looking statements in this release.
Source: A&B Properties, Inc.
For A&B Properties
Media:
Meredith J. Ching, 808-525-6669
mching@abinc.com
Investor
Relations:
Kevin L. Halloran, 808-525-8422
khalloran@abinc.com