Two Durham office buildings changed hands for about $55.6M, representing a 53% increase in price since late 2012, when the buildings last sold. The two buildings, Palladian I and Palladian II, form the Palladian Corporate Center and total 201K SF.

Innovatus Capital Partners purchased the property free and clear of debt. Clarion Partners, which bought the buildings more than five years ago from Northwest Mutual for $36.2M, was the seller.

Palladian I totals about 100.5K SF and was completed in 2005, while Palladian II, which is about the same size, was completed in 2007. Collectively 98.4% leased, tenants in the four-story buildings include the corporate HQ for AICPA, as well as offices of Northwestern Mutual and Eco-Site LLC.

“Market participants have been waiting for a suburban asset of this caliber to trade, and we anticipate other owners of newer assets will test the market in 2018 on the heels of this sale, as the capital markets environment is clearly embracing the Raleigh-Durham growth story,” HFF Senior Director Scot Humphrey said.

Humphrey represented the seller along with Senior Managing Director Ryan Clutter and Director Chris Lingerfelt. The HFF debt placement team representing the buyer included Senior Director Brent Bowman.

This is the second acquisition in the Raleigh-Durham market for New York-based Innovatus. The company purchased two office properties within Keystone Office Park in Durham in March.