Griffin Capital Buys AT&T Wireless Data Center

Griffin Capital has purchased AT&T Wireless' National Network Operations Center in Redmond, Washington, the company said recently. The facility was bought as part of Griffin's acquisition of a three-building, 155,830 square foot office and data center campus fully leased AT&T Wireless. The property also houses AT&T Wireless' next-generation research and development labs.

AT&T Wireless, the country's second-largest cell phone service provider, has continuously occupied the property since it was built in 1995 and over the past three years invested more then $50 million of its own capital to upgrade the facility. with plans for additional investment.

The National Network Operations Center is located in Redmond, with easy access to Interstate 405 and State Route 520, and situated adjacent to a primary telecommunication fiber corridor.

"The acquisition of the AT&T Wireless National Network Operations Center represents the REIT's first major acquisition in the Pacific Northwest," said Michael Escalante, Griffin Capital's Chief Investment Officer. "The Puget Sound region, buoyed by such corporate stalwarts as Boeing, Costco and Microsoft, has shown tremendous resilience since 2008 and remains one of the fastest growing MSA's in the country, fueled by the success of a number of technology-oriented companies including Amazon and Expedia."

Excalante called the AT&T Wireless property "a one-of-a-kind telecommunications facility located in the heart of a dynamic market that can best be described as the Silicon Valley of the Pacific Northwest."

Los Angeles-based Griffin Capital is the sponsor of Griffin Capital Net Lease REIT, Inc., a publicly-registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. Griffin Capital and its affiliates have invested over $26 million of capital into the REIT. Griffin Capital has a sixteen-year track record sponsoring real estate investment vehicles and managing institutional capital. The company has acquired or constructed over 11 million square feet of space since 1996, and currently manages a portfolio of more than 7.8 million square feet located in 12 states, representing approximately $900 million in asset value.