Hoffman Co. Closes Faria Preserve Property Sale
Natalie Dolce / GlobeSt.com
SALES
SAN RAMON, CA-The Hoffman Co. has closed the sale of the Faria Preserve property to Lafferty Communities, a private, family-owned developer, in one of the largest land transactions in the East Bay area in several years. Faria Preserve is a roughly 440-acre property annexed in 2009 by the City of San Ramon, the heart of the East Bay real estate market. Construction is projected to commence in 2014 with the first model homes expected to be open by 2015. The Faria Preserve development is a master-planned residential community set among the rolling hillsides on the northwestern edge of San Ramon. It consists of a Tentative Map approved for 786 units ranging from single family detached homes to multifamily apartments. The community also will boast an assortment of public amenities including active parks, open space and natural resource preservation. GlobeSt.com has learned that the total project cost in the acquisition and development of the site is in excess of $100 million.
LOS ANGELES-M West Holdings has completed the acquisition of 900 E. 1st St. Lofts, a 45-unit property located in the Arts District neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. The 61,961-square-foot building originally served as the distribution warehouse for the J. R. Newberry Co., a Los Angeles grocery store chain founded in 1898. In the 1980s the building underwent a complete renovation and was converted into 45 artist lofts. The open plan lofts currently feature exposed brick walls and original wooden columns.
DOWNEY, CA-Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors negotiated the sale of a single-tenant Walgreens. Located at 8030 Imperial Hwy. here, the 12,255-square-foot freestanding building (including a drive-thru) leased to Walgreens is situated on a 0.98-acre parcel of land and was built in 2011. The tenant has a brand new 25-year NNN lease. The buyer, a private investor from Palm Desert, CA, was represented by Jeremy S. McChesney of Hanley Investment Group. The seller, Downey 1 Partners LLC from Seal Beach, CA, was represented by Art Flores of CBRE in Newport Beach, CA. The purchase price was just north of $8 million. According to Jeremy McChesney, senior vice president at Hanley Investment Group, “Single-tenant Walgreens continue to be a preferred investment for buyers seeking a safe place to put their money in today’s commercial real estate market.”
NEWPORT BEACH, CA-MIG Real Estate revealed its plans to invest up to $600 million in property acquisitions in 2012. MIG has acquired more than $400 million of real estate properties since April 2009, with approximately $200 million closing in 2011. In 2012, MIG will continue to be active in several of its primary markets in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Hawaii, with expansion into Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City. Recently, the company decided to also enter the major Texas markets—Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio as well as key markets in the Southeast where its primary focus will be multifamily and hotels.
DEVELOPMENT
LOS ANGELES-More than 800 people have already submitted applications to live at Lorena Heights Apartments, a new income-eligible housing community in Boyle Heights that had its official grand opening celebration on March 7. The $40-million urban-infill community features both two- and three-bedroom floor plans in two, four-story contemporary buildings, which are affordable to working families earning 30% to 60% of the area median income in Los Angeles County, as defined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition to the 112 apartment units, property highlights include a picnic area, playground, a subterranean parking garage, and a community recreation center that features the restored façade of a historic church that once occupied the site. Designed by KTGY Group Inc., and built by CMSI/Advent Cos., Lorena Heights Apartments sits on 2.62 acres of hillside land, offering incredible views of the Hollywood Hills, while being easily accessible to major highways and public transportation. The Lorena Heights development benefited from $19.9 million of private equity from Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised through the sale of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits as well as $5 million of infill infrastructure funds from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Another $5 million came from the California Pollution Control Finance Authority. Bank of America Merrill Lynch also provided $15.8 million of construction and bridge loans. Continental Mortgage Corp. provided $10 million in bridge loans. Finally, the seller of the property has provided a residual receipts note of $1.2 million.
SAN JOSE, CA-PCCP LLC has formed a joint venture with Hunter Storm Properties, an active retail developer in the Bay Area, to acquire a 30-acre infill land parcel located at Cottle Road and Highway 85 here. At closing, the joint venture sold off five acres of the land which is entitled for 220 multifamily units. The remaining 25 acres will be Village Oaks, a planned 320,000-square-foot retail development. Hunter Storm Properties plans to begin development on the project sometime in the fourth quarter of 2012, with an anticipated completion date of approximately one year later.
HOLLYWOOD-CIM Group has begun site preparation work and will soon start construction of its Sunset Gordon development, a 22-story tower offering a vertical mix of 301 residences, 39,000 square feet of office space, 13,500 square feet of ground floor retail and a public park. CIM Group acquired the fully-entitled property located at the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gordon Street on August 5, 2011. Since then, CIM has proceeded with the development based on design drawings drafted in conformance with the property’s existing entitlements. The Sunset Gordon development will include a re-creation of the original 1920s Spanish architecture facades along Sunset Boulevard and part of its Gordon Street frontage. Set back from this “jewel box” building, the tower will include office space on the third and fourth floors, with premier residences on floors 5 through 22 that will offer panoramic views. Residents will have access to many on-site amenities including a pool deck on the fifth floor, a business center with a conference room, as well as a fitness center. A 21,000-square-foot public park will provide open space for the community and enhance the pedestrian experience. Building demolition permits were issued by the City of Los Angeles Building Department in January 2012, and work was completed on February 21. Prior to demolition, hazardous materials abatement work was completed, and the wood flooring was removed and recycled.
LEASES
WALNUT CREEK, CA-Macerich has added a high-profile addition—the new Neiman Marcus Walnut Creek store—to Broadway Plaza, its dominant shopping center in Northern California’s affluent East Bay. The new, nearly 86,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus opened on March 9. “The new Neiman Marcus cements the upscale appeal of this unique property—a fortress asset in the heart of the highly desirable East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area,” says Randy Brant, executive vice president of real estate at Macerich. “Neiman Marcus joins a newly expanded Nordstrom and other top names at Broadway Plaza, which offers a one-of-a-kind downtown setting that continues to draw the world’s best retailers.” The new Neiman Marcus store at Broadway Plaza is the only new Neiman Marcus store set to open in 2012. According to Jeff Green, president and CEO of retail real estate consulting firm Jeff Green Partners, “The new Neiman Marcus at Broadway Plaza underscores the importance of this market as a growth corridor for top brands. This luxury department store now gives local shoppers even more reason to stay on their side of the Bay, where they can find what they want close to home.”
COMPTON, CA-Apparel manufacturer Topson Downs has leased 123,000 square feet of distribution space, representing the full building at 2500 S. Edison Way here. Building owner Prudential Real Estate Investors was represented by Rooney Daschbach, Steve Bohannon, Rusty Smith, and Eric Daschbach of the Los Angeles South office of commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc. “Topson Downs, which had been using third-party logistics providers, decided to go in-house with those operations,” says Daschbach. “The company’s goals were to save money, be more profitable, and to have greater control over their distribution, and after an extensive search determined that this location would be ideal to accomplish those goals.” The Culver City, CA-based Topson Downs, which was represented by Mike Poyer of Capital Real Estate Advisors, manufactures and distributes various products ranging from mass market private labels to high-end contemporary fashion. The company’s new distribution facility, which includes 10,000 square feet of office space, is situated within PREI’s 19-building Dominguez Hills Industrial Park, represented exclusively by Cushman & Wakefield.
FINANCING
SAN JOSE, CA-Pembrook Capital Management LLC has completed a $8.37-million first mortgage bridge loan to an affiliate of Republic Urban Properties LLC, facilitating the acquisition of a 2.36-acre land parcel here. The loan was originated by Chris Simon, located in Los Angeles, CA. The sponsor was advised on the transaction by Curtis Palmer and Ted Fentin from Multi-Housing Capital Advisors in Beverly Hills, CA. The bridge loan will finalize the assemblage of a 3.55 acre land site to be used for the future development of a class-A multifamily apartment complex, located at 1400 W. San Carlos St. in San Jose. The property is expected to consist of 218 rental apartment units, as well as over 14,000 square-feet of retail space. In addition, the Pembrook loan will allow Republic Urban Properties to obtain its building permits, finalize their development costs and procure their senior debt financing.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
BEVERLY HILLS, CA-The real estate investment banking firm of Lucent Capital has hired Bruce F. Evans as executive vice president, to assist with a growing pipeline of transactions and to work closely with joint-venture equity partners.