Boca-based Pebb Enterprises and BH buy Office Depot headquarters space for $104 million
BOCA RATON — Retail giant Office Depot is selling a portion of its campus headquarters space in a joint $104 million deal with Pebb Enterprises and BH Group.
Pebb Enterprises, a real estate development and investment firm based in Boca Raton, has been purchasing a number of commercial real estate properties in the Boca area the past few years. Office Depot, also based in Boca Raton, purchased the 651,265-squarefoot complex at 6600 North Military Trail for $132 million in 2017. It was built in 2008, records show.
The transaction includes an agreement to lease back a significant portion of the campus to Office Depot, according to a spokesperson representing both groups.
Office Depot agreed to a long-term lease back for 285,000 square feet as part of the transaction, which closed on April 5.
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City National Bank provided acquisition financing to the joint venture. Financial details were not disclosed.
“We are excited to team up with BH Group on this incredible acquisition,” PEBB President and CEO Ian Weiner said. “The campus can accommodate the pent-up demand for Boca Raton office space from both established and new-to-market companies.”
Aventura-based BH Group and PEBB are partnering on several South Florida investments, and the companies plan to implement a substantial capital improvements program to upgrade the Office Depot campus.
“This acquisition is a true win/win for our partnership,” Isaac Toledano of BH Group said. “It enables a major employer to remain headquartered in Boca Raton, while unlocking the vast potential of the remaining office space and overall property.”
Office Depot reported revenue of $8.49 billion for 2022, a steady downward trend from a peak of $16.1 billion reported for 2013. In 2013, the company bought retail rival OfficeMax and four years later it purchased technology firm, CompuCom.
Office Depot then negotiated a deal to sell to larger competitor Staples, but that was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The company is a long-time, prominent player in Palm Beach County's business scene. It's one of only two Fortune 500 companies headquartered here and is the ninth biggest revenue generator among South Florida public companies, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The retailer has employed as many as 2,000 workers at its home office and has received millions in state and local incentives to maintain its headquarters in the county.
As with many big companies, however, office space isn't needed as much because of a shift in work-from-home policy many corporations have granted workers since the COVID-19 pandemic. That, along with the fact that business supplies aren't needed as much prompted Office Depot to reposition itself as a seller of business services.
The digitization of work along with Amazon, Walmart and Target entering the business supply arena has also hurt sales.
Palm Beach Post correspondent Maddy Rubin contributed to this report.
James Coleman is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jcoleman@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pebb Enterprises, BH buy Office Depot HQ space for $104 million
