Hines Sells Wilshire Office Tower for $225M

Douglas Emmett, Inc., a California based REIT, in partnership with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) announced the acquisition of a Class A office building in Los Angeles for $225 million, or $616 per square foot. The 19-story building was sold by a fund managed by Hines; Hines acquired the property from Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management for the same amount in 2007 on behalf of its U.S. Office Value Added Fund II, L.P. Douglas Emmett will manage the joint venture and expects to retain a 20% to 30% equity interest, with the remainder held by institutional partners. Eastdil Secured handled the transaction.

Designed by Tracy Price Associates, 12100 Wilshire Boulevard was completed in 1985 and is located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Bundy Drive in the Brentwood submarket of West Los Angeles. The building features ocean views starting from the second floor, outdoor balconies on the top two floors and an above-market parking ratio. Including known move-outs, the property will be 77% leased at the time of closing, with major tenants including Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, Akana (formerly SOA Software Inc.) and Regus.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Clarion Buys Pacific Tech Park

An affiliate of New York-based Clarion Partners purchased the Pacific Technology Park in Sorrento Mesa, California in a $90 million deal arranged by Cushman & Wakefield. According to a San Diego Business Journal article, the sellers of the industrial property, at 9389-9477 Waples St., were Pacific Tech Property Inc. of San Diego and San Francisco-based Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management. The sellers were represented by Jeff Chiate, Jeffrey Cole and Edward Hernandez of Cushman & Wakefield; and Mickey Morera and James Duncan of Kidder Mathews; Clarion was self-represented.

"This offering generated a great deal of interest," Jeffrey Cole told GlobeSt.com. "Clarion Partners was attracted to this opportunity to own a class A industrial park with credit tenancy in a coastal market. With the acquisition, Clarion also has the potential to further improve certain suites to re-lease to creative office and technology tenants at significantly higher rents."

The five building, office/corporate headquarter, R&D, warehouse business park is centrally located in San Diego's Sorrento Mesa Submarket, just east of the Interstate 805 Freeway. Pacific Technology Business Park was built in 1989-1991 and was 80% occupied by 13 tenants at the time of sale.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

JV Buys Tasman Tech Park for $116M

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management has sold Tasman Technology Park in the Silicon Valley Market to a joint venture between Houston-based Lionstone Investments and Bay Area-based Orchard Partners, in partnership with an institutional client, for about $116 million, or roughly $190 per square foot. The park covers fourteen office/R&D buildings totaling 608,968 square feet, prominently located along Tasman Drive, and conveniently positioned one stop from new Milpitas Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station, which will be completed in early 2017. Full terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Orchard Partners and Lionstone were attracted to this opportunity by its prominent, accessible location, the continuous glass line of the buildings, and the opportunity to raise the overall image of the campus through building and common area improvements," stated Michael Biggar, Managing Partner of Orchard Partners. "We intend to make a substantial capital investment in the property to create a community oriented work environment in which tenants will thrive. We have a 47 acre canvas with which to work."

"Lionstone is thrilled to be a part of the growing Silicon Valley market anchored by innovative technology leaders such as Google, Apple, Samsung and Cisco. The ideal location of the Tasman Technology Park, in the center of the creative, technological hub, offers a unique opportunity to deliver creative, campus environments equipped with desired features such as beautiful outdoor spaces and work areas that attract smaller tech tenants that can use these amenities to recruit and retain the best employees," said Jane Page, Lionstone Investments CEO.

Tasman Technology Park was 98% leased at the time of sale to a diverse tenant roster including technology leaders such as FireEye, Micron Technology, and Trimble Navigation. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, formerly known as Rreef, has been selling many of the Peery/Arrillaga portfolio properties, following a roughly eight-year hold, according to a Silicon Valley Business Journal article. Other sell-offs include a Sunnyvale package sold to Lane Partners last December for about $250 per square foot.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Clarion Adds to Austin Office and Retail Portfolios

Clarion Partners has expanded its Austin portfolio with the acquisition of Mira Vista and The Overlook, an office portfolio, and a single tenant retail property occupied by Whole Foods Market Inc. The office portfolio was purchased from Houston-based The Lionstone Group, while the retail building was developed and owned by Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group in partnership with RREEF, now known as Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management. HFF represented the seller for both transactions; terms of the deals were not disclosed.

"We're excited to expand our portfolio in Austin," said Brian Watkins, a Managing Director at Clarion Partners. "This is one of the strongest major metropolitan markets in the country and we believe the strong location and proximity to amenities make these assets an excellent addition to our portfolio."

The 171,872 square foot, two-building office portfolio is currently 98.2% leased across a variety of professional service industries. Mira Vista and The Overlook were developed in 2002 and 1999, respectively, and are occupied with a strong tenant roster across varied industries including finance, real estate, legal, education and technology. Whole Foods has a long-term lease for the 60,000-square-foot property at 11920 Domain Drive.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.