Business headlines over the past few months have been full of sunny reports from Seattle: Boeing, for example, is in full swing thanks to the production ramp up of the 787 and the backlog of orders for both the 787 and 737, representing a workload of more than 5 years. The tech sector is hopping here as well, with Google adding up to 840 jobs, Amazon doubling the positions available from a year ago to 1,900, and solid growth at Facebook. This all takes place, of course, in a market that happens to include big-name employers like Microsoft and the increasingly active Gates Foundation, and strong sectors such as Biotech and Pacific Rim trading. Given this strong and diverse economic base, then, it is perhaps no surprise that Seattle is robust compared with many other U.S. markets. This is not to say the recession had no effect — a year ago, rents in empty boxes were leasing at discounts of up to 40 percent of what had been paid by previous tenants. However, the market here has gradually stabilized, and those discounts have shrunk to 15 to 20 percent of previous rental rates. Today, in fact, retailers like HomeGoods, Sports …
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CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial’s Capital Markets Group has arranged a $6-million loan for an industrial building at 2495 Faraday Ave. in Carlsbad. The 109,807-square-foot building is fully leased to Federal Express. The lender provided a non-recourse, cash-out refinance with a 30-year amortization. The interest rate is fixed for seven years at 4.76 percent. The financing was arranged by Gary Goss of Cassidy Turley’s Capital Markets Group.
LOS ANGELES — George Smith Partners has arranged a $4.2-million refinancing loan for a Downtown Los Angeles apartment property. The 196-unit, Single Resident Occupant (SRO) property was originally built as a hotel in 1910. It is currently undergoing a major rehabilitation and, thus, is completely vacant. GSP’s arrangement included a 10-year loan with a 6.25 percent fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization. It also features a step-down pre-payment penalty prior to stabilization. The GSP team was led by vice president Bryan Shaffer.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – ARA Colorado has sold the 258-unit Rustic Hills Park Apartments in Colorado Springs for $4.2 million. The value-add property was under control of a court-appointed receiver at the time of sale. It was purchased by Connexion Asset Group. The receiver, Trigild, was represented by ARA’s Ken Greene and Kevin McKenna in the disposition.
PHOENIX — Ware Manufacturing has leased 90,000 square feet of space at a multi-tenant building at 1439 S. 40th Ave. in Phoenix. This lease brings the 127,042 square-foot building to full occupancy. The remainder of the space is occupied by Sullivan Moving & Storage. Ware Manufacturing was represented by Ted Liles and Lance Ross of Ross Property Advisors. The landlord, DEXUS Property Group, was represented by Bo Mills, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. – A 23,000-square-foot, Class A office building located at 1315 Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica has sold to Lincoln Property Company for $12.6 million. The building was 25 percent occupied at the time of sale. Bob Safai and Mitch Stokes of Madison Partners represented the seller, Praedium Group, in this transaction.
DENVER — Lowe Enterprises Investors has purchased the 231,454-square-foot Denver Club office building inside Denver’s Central Business District. Built in 1954, the 24-story Denver Club is a historic building that is undergoing a $10-million renovation. The tower is currently 76 percent leased. Jeremy Ballenger of Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group led Lowe’s acquisition team. The seller was represented by Riki Hashimoto and Dan Grooters of Grubb & Ellis.
GLENDALE, CALIF. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) has sold the 77-unit Legacy at Westglen apartment complex in Glendale to Acacia Realty Corp. for an undisclosed sum. The property was built in 1984 and contains 80,766 square feet that reside at 1151-1161 Sonora Ave. IPA’s Ron Harris and Joseph Smolen represented both the buyer and the seller, TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate.
SAN RAMON, CALIF. — The 63,265-square-foot Diablo Plaza in San Ramon has received two new tenants. Beverages &more! (BevMo!) has leased 12,015square feet of space at the center and plans to open in fall. BevMo! was represented by Matt Alexander of SRS Real Estate Partners. Additionally, West Coast Gold Buyers has leased 1,300 square feet of space at Diablo Plaza that is now open. The jewelry specialist was represented by Richard Odenheimer with MRE Commercial Real Estate. Regency Centers, Diablo’s owner, was represented in-house by Ranfie Ancelovici and Gwen White with Cornish & Carey.
PASADENA, CALIF. — The Towers, a 31-unit historical apartment building in Pasadena, has sold to a limited liability company for $3,255,000. A parking lot and a vacant triplex were also included in this transaction. Richard J. Ringer, first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s West Los Angeles office, represented both the buyer and the seller in this transaction.