Bixby Sells Pacific Center, Stream Realty to Upgrade

Bixby Land, the Irvine, CA-based office and industrial real estate agency, announced last week that it had sold the eight-story Pacific Center in Torrance, CA for $68.5 million. Bixby bought the 291,000 square foot property from TA Associates for $52 million in July 2012, and invested $6 million into property renovations. This week the new owner, Stream Realty, secured a $49 million loan for the acquisition and further renovation of the office building, according to a GlobeSt.com article. Kevin MacKenzie, senior managing director at HFF, secured the funds on behalf of the borrower, along with HFF associate director Brian Torp.

The financing for the property is a non-recourse, four-year interest-only loan with a floating rate, funded through a national bank. "Through an extensive marketing process, there was significant interest generated across the capital spectrum due to the high quality of the asset, the strong office market trends in the south bay, and the experienced sponsorship," said MacKenzie.

When Bixby Land bought the building at 21250 Hawthorne Blvd. it was 63% occupied; their $52 million renovation program was intended to attract new tenants, with upgrades including removing land berms from around the building and putting in new landscaping with palms and olive trees and a furnished outdoor seating area. The building is now 80% leased with tenants including All Nippon Airways, Living Social, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Wells Fargo Insurance.

To bring the occupancy levels up higher, Stream plans to make further improvements to the lobbies and un-leased interior units, as well as for leasing concessions. According to Stream Realty's Colby Annett, the financing is a perfect fit for the company to carry out its business plan. "The quality of the asset combined with strong fundamentals in the market made the debt placement a smooth process," he told GlobeSt.com. With additional improvements, Bixby was able to bring the building occupancy up nearly 20% in less than two years with 55,000 square feet of leases signed.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

American Realty Acquires 100 View @ Mountain View Station

TA Associates disposed of a two-story office building in Downtown Mountain View, one of Silicon Valley's top submarkets, roughly 18 months after purchasing it as American Realty Advisors acquired the property this month. While the terms of the deal and pricing were not disclosed by either company, two separate sources said the property traded "in the mid-$700s," which would peg the sale at around $34 million, according to a Silicon Valley Business Journal article.

American's EVP/Executive Managing Director, Kirk Helgeson, stated, "As the economy continues to recover and exhibit signs of increasing stability, we are focusing on high-quality assets in innovation hub markets with strong demand from globally-competitive industries. As dynamic and high performing technology markets like Silicon Valley continue to grow in occupancy and rents, the acquisition of 100 View @ Mountain View Station represents the opportunity to acquire a quality asset in an outstanding location and create value for our clients over the long term."

The 45,000 square foot office building with direct access to the Mountain View Caltrain Station was built in 1985. Located approximately 12 miles northwest of San Jose and 37 miles southeast of San Francisco, the Property is in close proximity to the intersection of Highway 85 and Highway 237 in the South Peninsula office sub-market. The building is fully leased to multiple technology tenants.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

The Arbors Office Park Sold for $12.75M

RexxHall Realty purchased a multi-building office park in South Florida from TA Associates for $12.75 million this month. Details of the sale were not disclosed, but it was noted that Stuart T. Kapp of Proskauer Rose LLP served as RexxHall’s legal counsel while CBRE’s Institutional Group and Private Capital Group represented the seller. The property sits at 1615, 1625 at 1690 S. Congress Avenue in Delray Beach and is currently 45% occupied with major tenants including Alfred Angelo, Sperry & Hutchinson, Twin-Star International and Escalate.

RexxHall’s Aaron Stauber told the Business Journal that the company thinks South Florida has matured significantly in the last two decades. The Arbors is a great opportunity because each of the buildings is different, and each has potential that has not been maximized, he said.

"RexxHall has significant opportunity for upside potential through the lease-up of the vacant space, which they are confident that they will be able to accomplish," said CBRE Vice Chairman Christian Lee in a statement. "They have a big capital budget and plan to renovate the buildings and implement an aggressive leasing program."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.