SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Avison Young has acquired Starrpoint Commercial Partners in Santa Monica. The firm specializes in high-tech and media firms that are looking for space in and around Santa Monica. Randy Starr, Starrpoint’s founder and CEO, and Tim Dornan, its principal, will now work out of Avison’s third Los Angeles-area office. Starr will act as a principal, while Dornan joins as a vice president. Avison will occupy the former Starrpoint space at 301 Arizona Ave., Suite 303.
Western
BOISE, OREM, UTAH, MALIBU, CALIF. — Kennedy Wilson(KW) and its partners have recently acquired three Western-based retail properties for a total of $37.3 million. Its most recent acquisition was a 209,329-square-foot, multi-tenant retail center in Orem. It has also purchased 15,118 square feet of retail and office space in Malibu, as well as a 114,404-square-foot retail center in Boise. Partners in these acquisitions included The LeFrak Organization and Kennedy Wilson Fund IV, among others.
CALABASAS, CALIF. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) has named Brian T. Murdy as national director. IPA is a multifamily brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap that specializes in institutional and major private investors. Murdy had previously served as portfolio manager of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers’ flagship core open-end fund. He is a 28-year veteran of the institutional multifamily investment industry.
SURPRISE, ARIZ. – The 142-unit La Borgata Apartments in Surprise has received a $12.1-million loan refinancing. The financing was secured for Retreat at West Point Multi-Family LP by Artin Anvar of Love Funding’s Washington office through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 223(a)(7) loan program. The property is managed by MEB Management Services.
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. – LinkedIn has committed to 556,360 square feet of office space in Sunnyvale. The social networking company will soon be housed in a 630,000-square-foot, Class A campus that is being developed by JP DiNapoli Companies on a 14.2-acre site. It is located at 555 North Mathilda Ave. LinkedIn will be the campus’ sole tenant. The project, which will contain a pair of 204,000-square-foot buildings and a 129,600-square-foot building, is striving for LEED-Gold certification. A 73,425-square-foot office building is already in existence at the campus and is currently leased by LinkedIn. A 52-room Comfort Inn, which sits on the property, will be demolished to make room for the new campus. JP DiNapoli was represented by Phil Mahoney and Ben Stern of Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank.
SHERIDAN, ORE. — A vacant industrial property located at 888 SE Sheridan Road in Sheridan has received a $1.25-million loan. The property houses a 235,000-square-foot former manufacturing facility that was built in 1973. It was previously used by Liberty Homes, an affiliate of the borrower, to produce manufactured housing. The 34.2-acre property contains three buildings that include 4,000 square feet of built-out office space. The three-year, interest-only loan will provide working capital to fund improvements that will ultimately allow the owner to reposition the property. Financing was obtained by owner Liberty Realty Enterprises and will be serviced by Kennedy Funding on behalf of a limited liability company owned by the members. At the time of the loan’s closing, a 24,000-square-foot building on the property was under contract to be sold for $680,000.
New multifamily developments are springing up throughout San Diego County. Strengthening apartment market fundamentals and rising demand are among the many reasons why investors view this as the perfect time to capitalize on development. There are currently more than 1,500 multifamily units under construction and slated for completion by the end of this year in the county — more than triple the amount of new units delivered in 2011, according to RealFacts. Developers are finding a more cost-effective approach to investing in this market by purchasing land for development as opposed to buying existing apartments and refurbishing. However, finding suitable land for development remains a challenge. Locations throughout the county attracting the highest developer interest and already witnessing new construction activity are centrally located, mixed-use urban areas. This is no surprise as walkability and easy access to transportation is highly sought after by the younger generation of renters. This population is currently estimated to be more than 959,000 strong — larger than that of the Baby Boomer population, according to SANDAG. A number of projects have broken ground in the Downtown market, primarily in Little Italy and East Village, as developers take advantage of the area’s unique characteristics. Two notable …
IRVINE, CALIF. – A 24,000-square-foot office building located at 2501 Alton in Irvine has sold to EQR Residential for $5 million. EQR is an apartment developer that plans to demolish the property in favor of a new multifamily development. The company had previously purchased an adjacent site and is currently processing entitlements for the new project. This 1.9-acre space is expected to represent the second phase of the project. EQR was represented by CBRE’s Larry Schuler. The seller, SKB Enterprises, was represented by Steve Schloemer of Colliers International.
CONCORD, CALIF. – The Fresenius USA building, a 152,000-square-foot, single-tenant office/R&D building in Concord, has received a $4.5-million mezzanine loan. The building is fully leased to Fresenius USA, a subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KgaA. It serves as the company’s North America medical equipment manufacturing facility. The financing allowed the building’s owner, Harvest Properties, to purchase, renovate and expand the property to 183,149 square feet. The investment was made on behalf of Pearlmark Mezzanine Realty Partners III. The transaction was arranged by Bill Swackhamer and Rachael Litvin of Pearlmark Real Estate Partners.
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – ATopTech has leased 26,000 square feet of office and R&D space in Santa Clara. The company is relocating to 2111 Tasman Drive from 3099 North First Street in San Jose. The new space will serve as the company’s headquarters. ATopTech was represented by Mike Mordaunt and Scott Kinder of Cresa San Jose. The landlord, RREEF, was represented by CBRE’s Joe Kelly and Rob Shannon.