SAN FRANCISCO — A joint venture between Kennedy Wilson and the Takenaka Corp. has purchased a 247,000-square-foot office tower in San Francisco for $135 million The Class A building is located at 400 and 430 California St. The sale includes a 27,000-square-foot bank branch. MUFG Union Bank is both the seller and the sole occupant of the property. The company will lease the property and vacate the tower over the next two years on a staggered basis. It will vacate the bank branch after four years. The tower will also undergo a complete interior renovation. James Andrew International represented Takenaka in this transaction.
California
Community Preservation Partners Buys 280-Unit Affordable Housing Development in California
by Nellie Day
CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIF. — Community Preservation Partners (CPP) has acquired Mountain View Apartments, a 280-unit affordable seniors housing community in Cathedral City, approximately 100 miles east of Los Angeles. A private trust sold the property for an undisclosed price. In conjunction with the sale, CPP has unveiled plans for $11.3 million in renovations to the community, which includes 70 buildings of four one-bedroom units each on a 20-acre plot. The community was built in 1984, and renovations are slated for completion by late 2017. Planned renovations include replacing all windows and doors, new paint, water efficiency upgrades, new exterior lighting and landscaping, cable television and wireless internet installation, new appliances, and fully remodeled bathrooms. The cost of the upgrades equates to approximately $40,000 per unit. Irvine-based CPP is an affordable housing rehabilitation company that owns more than 4,500 units across the United States.
The Orange County apartment market is currently enjoying strong fundamentals that comes from several sources. These include robust renter demand, strong local economy and historic low interest rates, all of which make for a perfect storm. As more renters enter the market due to strong employment numbers, it gives way to new household formation. While home prices in the region escalate, more would-be homebuyers are being priced out of the market and forced to remain in the rental pool, further driving competition for suitable housing and pushing rents to new levels. Orange County developers are responding to a growing demand for new multifamily housing developments, many of which are Class A projects targeting high-end tenant bases and price points. Many older properties, such as Class C or C+ buildings, are enjoying the blow back from these new developments when tenants seek out lower rents when compared to top-tier projects, resulting in robust rent increases. Investors looking to place capital in today’s multifamily market are taking advantage of strong fundamentals and cheap debt. Transaction volume has increased more than 10 percent in the past 12 months, with notable sales volume in the northern end of Orange County. Confident that upward rent …
INGLEWOOD, CALIF. — George Smith Partners has secured the $34 million refinancing of Crenshaw Imperial Plaza, a 305,000-square-foot mixed-use center located roughly 12 miles outside Los Angeles in Inglewood. The property consists of 238,000 square feet of retail and a 67,000-square-foot office building. The financing will be used to fund renovations at the center and pay off an existing loan. Renovations will include the demolition of obsolete space, new signage and the conversion of ground-floor office space into retail. The converted ground-floor space will be home to tenants including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Five Guys and Ono Hawaiian BBQ. Steve Bram, David Pascale and Ali Akbar of George Smith Partners secured the three-year, interest-only financing on behalf of the borrower, NewMark Merrill Cos. The lender was undisclosed.
SAN DEIGO — Rexford Industrial Realty has purchased an 83,500-square-foot industrial property in San Diego for $15.5 million. The facility is located at 9190 Activity Road. It is fully leased to a credit tenant that has more than six years remaining lease term. The acquisition was funded with cash on hand.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — Salon Republic, which provides shared workspace and services to beauty professionals, has signed a 10-year lease for 20,000 square feet of retail space at 6370 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. The space is located within the 216,238-square-foot Dome Entertainment Center, which is Robertson Properties Group owns. Matthew Fainchtein and Carter Magnin of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord in the transaction.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Palisades Capital Partners has acquired a mixed-use property located at 631 Wilshire Blvd. in downtown Santa Monica for $33 million. Originally built in 1958, the property has undergone $4 million in upgrades since 2013, including a remodeled lobby, outdoor common areas and locally focused murals. The 40,000-square-foot office and retail property features 11,000 square feet of retail space along Wilshire Boulevard. Mike Long of CBRE and Kevin Shannon, Rob Hannan and Ken White of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the sellers, PacShore Partners and GreenOak Real Estate LP, in the deal.
Continental Partners Secures $21.4M Refinancing for Two Retail Centers in Northern California
by Nellie Day
LOS BANOS AND SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Continental Partners, formerly known as Continental Funding Group, has secured $21.4 million in refinancing for two shopping centers located in Sacramento and Los Banos. J.M. Grimaldi of Continental arranged a $9.5 million loan to refinance a 149,620-square-foot retail property located at 911-963 W. Pacheco Blvd. in Los Banos; and an $11.9 million loan to refinance a 152,719-square-foot shopping center located at 5400 Date Ave. in Sacramento. The borrower was an undisclosed private real estate investor that specializes in acquiring and repositioning underperforming assets.
LATHROP, CALIF. — Faris Lee Investments has brokered the sale of Lathrop Crossing, a multi-tenant retail property located at 15320-15346 S. Harlan Road in Lathrop. San Francisco-based Lathrop Crossing LLC sold the property to Los Gatos-based Vattadi Lathrop Crossing LLC for $5.2 million, or $319 per square foot. Built in 2008 and situated on 2.5 acres, six tenants occupy the 16,303-square-foot property, including Little Caesars Pizza, Dickey’s BBQ, Subway and In-Shape Fitness. Jeff Conover of Faris Lee represented the seller in the deal.
LA HABRA, CALIF. — SBH Real Estate Group has purchased a retail property located at 250 N. Harbor Road in La Habra. Interhealth Corp. sold the property for $4.5 million, or $203 per square foot. The 22,297-square-foot property was vacant at the time of sale. Scott Hook and Dan Tyner of Hook Retail Advisors represented the buyer, while Greg Jones of Jones Real Estate represented the seller it the transaction.