BLT Enterprises Sells R&D Asset in San Diego, CA Submarket for Record $330 Per SF

R&D/Flex Building, 5454 Ruffin Road, San Diego, CA

SAN DIEGO, CA – BLT Enterprises, a multi-faceted commercial real estate development and investment company, has sold a 54,000 square-foot R&D/flex building in the Kearny Mesa submarket of San Diego, California for $18 million, or $330 per square foot.

Bernard Huberman

The property is located at 5454 Ruffin Road in San Diego, California.

Ron Jacobson at SD Realty Partners along with Brad Black and Chris Pascale at CBRE represented BLT Enterprises as the seller.

Tom Mercer at Colliers International represented San Diego Unified School District as the buyer.

BLT acquired the property in 2017 and sold it a year and a half later, according to Bernard Huberman, Founder and President of BLT Enterprises.

“Due to the property’s strategic location in a thriving industrial submarket, we knew that we could quickly enhance value by renovating, upgrading and modernizing the asset,” says Huberman.

“This sale is demonstrative of the success of that strategic approach, and our ability to reposition the property into a high-demand asset worthy of premium pricing.

Ron Jacobson

"Ultimately we were able to achieve a record per-square-foot price for an industrial asset in this submarket.”

During ownership, BLT Enterprises converted the 77,000 square-foot, two-story office building back to its original 54,000 square-foot size by removing the dated addition of a second-story office space constructed in the late 1980s.

“The addition of this mezzanine made the property severely under parked,” says Huberman. “By restoring the property to its original size, we were able to create a highly-functional environment that appealed to a diverse range of prospective buyers, and ultimately added to the long-term value of the property.”

Brad Black

In addition to removing the dated renovations, BLT Enterprises also modernized and upgraded the property by integrating a unique outdoor amenity space, new lobby, exposed high ceilings, skylights, dual pane energy efficient glazing, and LED lighting, among other features.

“Through our fully-integrated hands-on approach, we understand how to transform distressed assets into high-performing properties, which is exactly what we did here,” says Huberman.

“As a result, we garnered strong interest for the property and were able to command a premium price, maximizing our ROI.”

Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., BLT Enterprises was founded in 1984 and is a multi-faceted real estate development and investment company with an exceptional track record of success in industrial and commercial real estate.

Chris Pascale

 The firm has developed or acquired more than $2 billion in assets to date.

BLT Enterprises specializes in the acquisition, entitlement, development, operation, and property management of industrial, office, retail, mixed-use and special-use properties.

Tom Mercer

Contacts: 

Lisa James/ Jenn Quader

Brower Group

(949) 955-7940

LJames@brower-group.com