SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — SK Telecom Americas has relocated and expanded to a 34,697-square-foot space in Sunnyvale. The new office is located at 310 DeGuigne Drive. SK Telecom was previously based at 150 Mathilda Place. The relocation will allow SK Telecom to more than double its previous space. SK Telecom was represented by Fletcher Baker of Cresa San Jose. The landlord, Menlo Equities, was represented by CBRE.
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MESA, ARIZ. — Blandford Homes has acquired 19.3 acres in Mesa for $3.2 million. The site is located near the southwest corner of Greenfield Road and McDowell Road. The company plans to develop high-end executive homes on lots containing about 35,000 square feet. Brent Moser, Mike Sutton and Brooks Griffith of Cassidy Turley Arizona’s Land Group represented both the buyer and the seller, Horlacher Foundation, Inc., in this transaction.
LAS VEGAS — Craig Promenade Retail Center, an 86,395-square-foot shopping center in North Las Vegas, has sold to RREF II-KI Promenade LLC for $10.1 million. The center is located at located at 525-785 W. Craig Road. It was 70 percent occupied at the time of sale. Notable tenants include Big Lots and Metro PCS. RREF II-KI Promenade represented itself in the transaction. The seller, TNP SRT Craig Promenade, LLC, was represented by Faris Lee.
PASADENA, CALIF. – A 23,776-square-foot office building in Pasadena has sold to Markwood Enterprises for $7 million. The building is located at 66 Hurlbut Street. It is leased to Pacific Clinics. Markwood is aggressively seeking value-added opportunities, including multifamily development, mixed-use development and medical. The company was represented by Marie Taylor and Dan Bacani of NAI Capital’s Pasadena office.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Redrock Business Center, a 21,190-square-foot office complex in Scottsdale, has sold to A2Z Properties for $1.9 million. The Class B, four-building center is located at 17100 East Shea Blvd in the Fountain Hills submarket. Only two of the office buildings were included in this transaction. Eric Wichterman, and Mike Coover of Cassidy Turley represented both the buyer and the seller, MJA Investments, in this transaction.
Optimism is returning to the Inland Empire office market. With an overall vacancy rate of 18.3 percent at the end of the third quarter, the office sector is slowly improving. It’s down from a 19.4 percent vacancy rate, which was recorded in the second quarter of 2013. The declining vacancy number shows activity is increasing throughout the Inland Empire as tenants feel now is the time to take advantage of below-market rental rates for Class A and B properties. Landlords are also competing to lower their vacancy levels. They’re negotiating rental rates, tenant improvements and free rent concessions. Nevertheless, it’s a tenants’ market. There is an absence of new construction throughout the region and, as occupancies continue to improve, renewal negotiations will become tougher for tenants as the market is expected to gradually favor landlords as fundamentals continue their positive momentum. With that said, tenant urgency is returning to the market as absorption levels increase and options for quality product diminish. In fact, we’re starting to see rent growth in certain sectors of the market. The average overall asking lease rate ended the quarter at $1.73 per square foot, increasing by 1 cent from the previous quarter. CBRE forecasts that …
SANTA ANA, CALIF. – Blackstone Group has purchased a pair of Class A office buildings inside the mixed-use MacArthur Place development in Santa Ana for $82.5 million. The buildings are located at 1 and 2 MacArthur Place in the Airport submarket. They contain a total of 409,762 square feet. The seller was GLL Real Estate Partners. The transaction was executed by Michael Zietsman and Baker Morphy of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Market.
SAN FRANCISCO — Mesa West Capital has provided a $60.8-million first-mortgage loan to finance the fee acquisition of a 142,900-square-foot, mixed-use development in San Francisco. The development is located at 1700 California Street. The Hill Companies, which owns the property’s leasehold improvements, has acquired the fee interest under the development. The funds will cover the property’s fee acquisition, as well as the existing leasehold mortgage refinance. The property features 87,852 square feet of office and medical office space, 47 luxury multifamily units and 7,938 square feet of street-level retail, which is anchored by Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The development was built in 1987 and acquired by Hill in 2001. The property’s commercial component is fully leased, while the residential component is 95 percent leased. Financing was arranged by Ramsey Daya and Chris Moritz of Regency Capital Partners. It was originated by Ronnie Gul of Mesa West.
SAN DIEGO – A joint venture between McCarthy Cook & Co. and AllianceBernstein U.S. Real Estate Partners, L.P. has purchased Canyon Plaza, a 213,000-square-foot office campus in the San Diego submarket of Sorrento Mesa. The purchase price was not disclosed. The two-building plaza was built in 1986 and expanded in 1993. It is currently 49 percent leased to CareFusion Corporation. Conexant Systems previously held a master lease at the property. The Class A plaza currently has about 100,000 square feet of vacant space. The joint venture plans to redevelop its common areas and lobbies. It also intends to add a tenant lounge, café and fitness center. Gensler Architects will lead the redevelopment design efforts. Jones Lang LaSalle will market the campus to both full-campus and multi-tenant users. This is McCarthy Cook’s first venture with AllianceBernstein. The JV represented itself in this transaction. The seller, a real estate investment fund advised by LaSalle Investment Management, was represented by Lynn LaChapelle and Bob Prendergast of Jones Lang LaSalle.
WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. — Tishman Speyer has acquired California Plaza, a 379,000-square-foot office building in Walnut Creek, for a reported $102 million. The plaza is located at 2121 N. California Blvd. near the BART and I-680. It is currently 90 percent leased to tenants like Basic American Foods, CSE Insurance, MWH Americas and Anthem Blue Cross. The seller, Heitman LLC,was represented by HFF’s Steven Golubchik, Michael Leggett and John Simerlein.