Terremark Hopes To Take Control Of Technology Center

By Sherri C. Ranta
Terremark Worldwide Inc., hopes to buy out its partners to take full ownership of the Technology Center of the Americas, a 750,000-square-foot building in downtown Miami.

The center is home to an Internet traffic hub called a network access point, or NAP of the Americas.

Terremark this week announced an agreement with Calor Development, Barrow Street Capital and Lubert-Adler Management to purchase 100% of the equity interest in the building at 50 NE Ninth St., said spokeswoman Sandra Gonzalez-Levy. Terremark owns a small percentage of the center.

The company will pay $40 million and assume a $35 million mortgage on the building, she said. Terremark is looking for financing and expects to close on the transaction by Sept. 30.

"This just happened," she said. "It is a good business opportunity for us. It gives us additional space we need for growth."

The deal will eliminate the company’s $7.7 million annual rent expense for the building and expand its space by 350,000 square feet.

More than half of the six-story building is leased, she said. Tenants in the building, known as TECOTA and built in 2001, include NAP of the Americas, Global Crossing, e-life Group, a satellite-services company that rents space on the roof and Miami’s Downtown NET office.

Ms. Gonzalez-Levy said Terremark has some government contracts including with the military’s US Southern Command and Diplomatic Telecommunications Services, an agency that provides Internet access to embassies and consulates worldwide.