REIT Acquires $32M Century City Office Building

May 31, 2007 on 10:12 am | In Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Lights Camera Transaction, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 5 Comments

REIT Acquires $32M Century City Office Building


CENTURY CITY, CA-The Santa Monica-based Douglas Emmett office and multifamily REIT has acquired the 49,855-sf 1801 Century Park West office building for $32 million in an off-market transaction based on a 12-year sale-leaseback structure.

The seller was an entity of the law firm Ziffren Barranca, which occupies 100% of the building. The sale closed at a 5% cap with annual increases in the lease, which provides for the law firm to continue occupying the entire building.

Built in 1971 and renovated in 1977, the 1801 Century Park West building is known as Century Park Plaza and is a nine-story class A tower that sits on about a half acre of land. The building was redesigned by architect Barton Myers, a student of Louis Kahn and principal of Los Angeles-based Barton Myers Associates.

The acquisition fits with Emmett’s “overall submarket investment strategy,” according to Jordan Kaplan, president and CEO of the REIT, who says that owning the new property “further enhances our footprint within the Century City submarket.” Emmett already owns 866,123 sf of office space in the Century City submarket.

The REIT’s acquisition strategy, according to its recent public filings, includes strategically increasing market share in its existing submarkets and selectively entering other submarkets. “Our acquisition strategy will focus primarily on long-term growth potential rather than short-term cash returns,” the company said in one filing.

 info courtesy of  Bob Howard of GlobeSt.com

THREE ORANGE COUNTY OFFICE BUILDINGS SELL AS PART OF $310M PORTFOLIO

May 23, 2007 on 12:16 pm | In Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Lights Camera Transaction, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 16 Comments

THREE ORANGE COUNTY OFFICE BUILDINGS SELL AS PART OF $310M PORTFOLIO

 LOS ANGELES-Maguire Properties has entered an agreement to sell three office buildings in Orange County for $310 million as part of the office REIT’s continuing program to reduce debt after its $3-billion acquisition of EOP properties from Blackstone earlier this year. The buyer is a partnership of the Orange County-based Muller Co. and Rockwood Capital LLC.
The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, includes Tower 17 in Irvine, 1100 Executive Tower in Orange and Lincoln Town Center in Santa Ana. Rob Maguire, chairman and CEO, says that the disposition of the three properties, combined with the REIT’s previously announced asset sales in Orange County and San Diego, “positions us closer to” the completion of plans to streamline the company’s asset base and pay down its debt.
The previously announced sales include an agreement to sell five office properties in Orange County for approximately $345 million and a deal to sell two office properties in San Diego for approximately $298 million. The three in the latest deal were part of a group of 11 Orange County office projects that Maguire placed on the market soon after it agreed to acquire the EOP properties from Blackstone.
The 11 Orange County properties, in turn, were part of a group of 17 SoCal properties that Maguire said it would dispose of for approximately $2 billion to reduce debt from the Blackstone transaction. Besides Orange County assets, the 17 properties being sold by the Los Angeles-based REIT include assets in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.
Info courtesy of Bob Howard of GlobeSt.com

$30M OFFICE RENOVATION IN EL SEGUNDO

May 20, 2007 on 5:52 pm | In Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Office Fodder, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 2 Comments

Barker Pacific Unveils $30M Renovation

EL SEGUNDO, CA-The Los Angeles-based Barker Pacific Group has unveiled plans for a $30 million renovation of the 330,000-sf 101 Continental Blvd. office building, formerly known as Xerox Centre. Barker will bring in Richard Keating of Pasadena-based Keating Khang Architecture to upgrade the 35-year-old, 15-story office tower to class A status.

 

Michael Barker, managing director of the company, points out that the building will now be called by its street address, 101 Continental Blvd., after years of being named for its primary tenant, Xerox. Barker describes his company’s plan as a comprehensive renovation to upgrade the public areas and tenant spaces throughout the building as space becomes vacant through lease expirations.

The plan is expected to attract new tenants at higher lease rates, which continue to rise in the El Segundo market. Built in 1972, the 101 Continental building has 107,000 sf of space available for sublease and is still partially occupied by Xerox Corp., which has leased space there since 1983.

The 101 Continental building is situated in the middle of the El Segundo office market and is adjacent to the Los Angeles International Airport commercial district. Barker Pacific bought a 50% stake in the property in 2003 and acquired the remaining 50% in 2005.

Besides the office tower, the property includes a 230-stall subterranean garage and an adjacent parking lot with additional parking, for a total of 1,330 spaces. The building also features an an on-site cafeteria and a fitness center.

Info courtesy of Bob Howard of GlobeSt.com

PACIFIC PALISADES OFFICE BUILDING TO GET $13M RENNOVATION

May 17, 2007 on 8:17 am | In Fascinating Information, Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Office Fodder, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 1 Comment

PACIFIC PALISADES OFFICE BUILDING TO RECEIVE $13M RENNOVATION

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA-Highpoint Capital LLC of Los Angeles has acquired a 35,000-sf office property at 860 Via de la Paz for $13 million and plans upgrades as part of a value-added play, according to Jeffrey Seltzer, Highpoint’s founder. Highpoint bought the three-story building from a family trust in a joint venture with an institutional partner.
Built in 1980, 860 Via de la Paz is a freestanding building that was 97% occupied at the time of the sale. Seltzer noted  that the asset holds the promise of upside because in-place rents are “significantly under market” and because the building is located in “a market which we believe will enjoy robust rent growth over the next five years.”
The acquisition is one of three deals that Highpoint has either closed or is about to close in Southern California, including a $16-million office property in Costa Mesa and a $7.5-million retail deal in Rancho Mirage.
Highpoint focuses on acquiring office, industrial and retail buildings ranging from $5 million to $100 million, typically specializing in complicated deals including properties that are encumbered with conduit debt or high interest rate loans, properties encumbered by land leases, buildings with high vacancies or properties that are 100% vacant or mismanaged.
Info courtesy of Bob Howard of GlobeSt.com
 

Mortgage Bankers Association Sees $406.1 Billion Loan Volume in 2006

May 13, 2007 on 4:05 pm | In Fascinating Information, Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 5 Comments

MBA Sees $406.1 Billion Loan Volume in 2006
 

 

Commercial mortgage origination volume skyrocketed last year by 10% to $406.1 billion, according to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group noted the increase in volume was driven by large spikes in the origination of loans against office buildings. Commercial and savings banks, both of which have been under regulatory pressure to limit their exposure to the commercial real estate sector, increased their activity.  
 

Maguire Properties Completes Acquisition of $2.875 Billion Office Portfolio

May 12, 2007 on 11:35 am | In Fascinating Information, Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Lights Camera Transaction, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 18 Comments

Maguire Properties Completes Acquisition of $2.875 Billion Office Portfolio
 
Maguire Properties, Inc. (NYSE:MPG), a southern California focused real estate investment trust, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of a portfolio of assets in Orange County and Downtown Los Angeles that was part of the former Equity Office Properties portfolio from the Blackstone Group. The purchase price was $2.875 billion (before reserves and closing costs) which was funded through $2.27 billion of new mortgage financing, $223 million in bridge financing and a $400 million term loan originated by Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch & Co. Credit Suisse also originated a new secured revolving credit facility for up to $130 million.
 
 

Mr. Robert F. Maguire III, Chairman and Chief Executive of Maguire Properties, said “We are enormously pleased to have completed the strategic acquisition of this portfolio. The properties are well located in tightening sub-markets with solid demand and rapidly dwindling entitlements. We continue to see significant opportunities to increase rents and parking revenue over the next few years given in place rents which are substantially below current market rents. This transaction supports our strategy of building strong market share in Orange County and in the Bunker Hill submarket of Downtown Los Angeles. Additionally, the two million square feet of development land acquired in this transaction will increase our total development pipeline to over 12 million square feet and positions us extremely well for future growth.”
 
 

Maguire Properties plans to integrate the new portfolio of assets through the hiring of approximately 50 Equity Office Properties employees who will continue to manage and lease substantially all of the acquired properties.
 
 

The $400 million term loan and revolving credit facility for up to $130 million have five and four year terms, respectively.
 
 

Maguire added, “We obtained $2.27 billion of new mortgage financing at a favorable weighted average interest rate of 5.9% to finance this Southern California portfolio acquisition. We are continuing to execute our previously announced plans to market and sell certain assets to streamline our asset base and reduce leverage to achieve our debt to market capital ratio objectives. As previously announced, we recently entered into agreements to sell two San Diego properties and five former EOP Orange County properties for a combined total of approximately $645 million and will use the proceeds from these sales to repay the term loan and reduce debt.”
 
 

Eastdil Secured acted as advisor in this transaction.
 
 

About Maguire Properties, Inc.
 
 

Maguire Properties, Inc. is the largest owner and operator of Class A office properties in the Los Angeles central business district and is primarily focused on owning and operating high-quality office properties in the Southern California market. Maguire Properties, Inc. is a full-service real estate company with substantial in-house expertise and resources in property management, marketing, leasing, acquisitions, development and financing. For more information on Maguire Properties, visit the Company’s website.
 
 

Business Wire
 

 

SoCal Commercial Real Estate Delinquencies Decline

May 10, 2007 on 6:45 am | In Fascinating Information, Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Funny...Money, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 5 Comments

SoCal Commercial Real Estate Delinquencies Decline 

 

Commercial real estate lending showed a decrease in delinquencies in California, according to a report by the California Mortgage Banking Association. The survey found that 99.87% of all commercial real estate loans serviced by 17 mortgage banks were current or less than one month behind. That is a delinquency ratio of .13%, down 27 basis points from the same time last year. 

 

Los Angeles Office Market Heating Up

May 6, 2007 on 10:39 am | In Fascinating Information, Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Lights Camera Transaction, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | No Comments

Los Angeles Office Market Heating Up 

 

 

The battle between supply and demand has turned up the heat on an already hot Los Angeles office investment market. Los Angeles has plenty of investors, but it’s lacking in construction, developable land and property offerings. So far this year, properties are trading hands for an average of $337/sf, significantly higher than last year’s total of $277/sf. Los Angeles’ lack of office supply is not expected to improve anytime soon. Only 1.6 million sf of office space is under construction in the region, according to a report by Grubb & Ellis. 

 

Where the Millionaires Live + Buy

May 5, 2007 on 3:23 pm | In Fascinating Information, Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Office Fodder, Uncategorized, Winning Properties | 9 Comments

Where the Millionaires Live, Work + Buy

The number of U.S. millionaire households has risen to a record high of 9.3 million as of mid-2006, up 5 percent from 2005, according to TNS Global’s annual Affluent Market Research Program.

The millionaires’ mean net worth, not including their primary residence, is $2,167,167 with investable assets of $1,442,841. Their median age is 58 and 45 percent are retired. 

 

Forty-six percent of millionaire households own investment real estate such as a second home, third home, rental properties, and undeveloped land. Thirty-four percent have a first mortgage on these residences and 25 percent have second mortgages on these additional residences. 

 

The TNS study identified 10 counties with the highest number of millionaire residents. 

 

Los Angeles County with 268,136 

Cook County, Ill., 171,118 

Orange County, Calif., 116,157 

Maricopa County, Ariz., 113,414 

San Diego County, Calif., 102,138 

Harris County, Texas, 99,504 

Nassau County, N.Y., 79,704 

Santa Clara County, Calif., 74,824 

Palm Beach County, Fla., 71,221 

King County, Ore., 68,390 

Source: Associated Press (05/01/07) 

 

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