BLT Enterprises Acquires 16,500-SF Building in Santa Monica, CA for Creative Office Property

Bernard Huberman

LOS ANGELES, CA – BLT Enterprises (BLT), a multi-faceted commercial real estate development and investment company, has purchased a 16,500 square-foot industrial building at 1601 Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. BLT is planning to convert the building into a creative-office property.

1601 Olympic Boulevard is situated on approximately 26,000 square feet of land in the Santa Monica submarket of Los Angeles, within walking distance of the expo line, Santa Monica City College, and numerous well-known media and entertainment companies.

The property’s size lends itself to an innovative conversion for creative users in the Santa Monica market, according to Bernard Huberman, Founder and President of BLT Enterprises.

Brad McCoy

“This acquisition, which happens to be located across the street from our company’s headquarters, aligns with our firm’s strategy of purchasing well-located but underutilized assets and redeveloping or converting them into modern properties that better serve the business community,” says Huberman.

 “Creative-office tenants are seeking space in the thriving Santa Monica market that offer amenities to help them attract and retain the best talent, and we are experts in providing this space.”

BLT was represented in the 1601 Olympic Boulevard sales transaction by Brad McCoy and David Wilson of Lee & Associates. The seller was represented by Bob Dubbins of Lee & Associates.

 Demand for creative office space continues to be high inWest Los Angeles, with the presence of technology giants including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple.

Bob Dubbins

These heavy hitters attract workers who demand workspaces that consistently evolve to accommodate their changing needs.

According to Huberman, flexibility and creative thinking are key elements to BLT's approach.

"Staying ahead of trends and anticipating the needs of current and future tenants ensures that these assets deliver exceptional long-term value to all parties," he says.

BLT has experience with a variety of out-of-the-box acquisitions and conversions in the Greater L.A. market. The firm recently acquired a four-stage studio lot in the core of the Hollywood Media District, according to Huberman.

The studio lot has been rebranded as BLT Studios and continues to serve production clients throughout the area.

David Wilson

Earlier this year, BLT completed the transformation of a former manufacturing facility in West Los Angeles into a 27,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art creative office space through which the company introduced a new concept in design: neighborhoods within the building that balance open collaborative space with private offices in a format that is customized to meet the organizational needs of each tenant.

About BLT Enterprises

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, 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.

 The firm has developed or acquired more than $2 billion in assets to date. BLT Enterprises specializes in the acquisition, development, operation, and property management of industrial, office, retail, mixed-use and special-use properties.

CONTACTS:

Lisa James / Jenn Quader

Brower Group

(949) 438-6262

ljames@brower-group.com

MCA Realty Sells 70,000-SF Industrial Property in Moorpark, CA for $10 Million

69,914 square-foot industrial building at 14399 Princeton Avenue in the Ventura County submarket of Moorpark, CA sold for $10,225,000.

Tyler Mattox

MOORPARK, CA – MCA Realty, a full-service real estate investment and management company based in Orange County, California, has sold a 69,914 square-foot industrial building at 14401 Princeton Avenue in the Ventura County submarket of Moorpark, California, for $10,225,000.

The buyer was tire wholesaler Big Brand Tires, which will fully occupy the property.

The transaction took place after MCA Realty executed an extensive renovation on the property, which was built in the early 1990s and in need of updating, according to Tyler Mattox, Principal at MCA.

Bennett F. Robinson

“The key to this sale was our ability to renovate a functionally obsolete building and making it desirable for today’s users,” says Mattox. 

“We were able to perform select renovations and bring a much-needed modern industrial space to the market, while realizing a strong return on our investment.”

MCA purchased the property in November 2017 as part of a 137,465 square-foot two-building industrial acquisition for $7.5 million.

Robert Griffin

The building at 14399 Princeton Avenue, a 45,916 square-foot property, was fully leased at the time of sale.

According to Mattox, MCA chose to monetize the building at 14399 Princeton, selling it for $6,125,000 within weeks of closing escrow, and concentrate on the repositioning of 14401 Princeton Avenue, a 91,549 square-foot industrial and office property.

“The most significant part of the renovation was the removal of roughly 20,000 square feet of mezzanine space to make the building functional,” says Mattox.

“We renovated all of the interior offices and reduced the mezzanine footprint to approximately 9,000 square feet.”

MCA also added an expansive truck court and a large loading dock with a canopy in addition to an updated paint scheme and new landscaping at the property.

Rick Scheckter

“This sale exceeded our financial projections,” says Mattox. “By scaling down the office mezzanine and improving the loading we were able to really make the property desirable for current-day industrial tenants and users.”

Bennett Robinson of CBRE along with Robert Griffin and Rick Sheckter of Newmark Knight Frank represented MCA Realty in the sale transaction. John Ochoa with Lee & Associates represented the buyer.

About MCA Realty

MCA Realty is a full-service real estate investment and management company specializing in commercial properties throughout the Western U.S.

The goal of the company is to identify real estate investment opportunities and execute value creation strategies that maximize returns to its investors. 

John Ochoa

MCA Realty's principals, Tyler Mattox, Jared Gordon, and Peter Cheng, have successfully navigated a full spectrum of market conditions, and pride themselves on building and maintaining strong relationships with industry partners.

CONTACTS:

Micaela Fehrenbach / Lexi Astfalk

Brower Group

(949) 438-6262

mfehrenbach@brower-group.com

www.mca-realty.com

HFF arranges $27 million sale of San Diego-area value-add retail center

Poway Crossings, a 109,455-square-foot, value-add, LA Fitness-anchored community shopping center in the San Diego suburb of Poway, CA

NEWPORT BEACH, CA –– HFF announces that it has closed the $27 million sale of Poway Crossings, a 109,455-square-foot, value-add, LA Fitness-anchored community shopping center in the San Diego suburb of Poway, California.

HFF represented the seller.  Sterling Organization purchased the asset on behalf of its latest institutional value-add fund, Sterling Value Add Partners III, LP (“SVAP III”). 

Gleb Lvovich

 Poway Crossings is Sterling Organization’s eighth acquisition in California since 2015 and their fifth investment on behalf of the $497 million SVAP III fund.

Situated on 10.10 acres at 12622-12654 Poway Road, the center is located along the main thoroughfare of Poway Road, exposing the center to more than 32,000 vehicles per day via Poway Road and Silver Lake Drive. 

 The center is in a dense and affluent trade area with nearly 90,000 residents earning an average annual household income of $125,000.

 The center was completed in 1979 and renovated throughout the years, most recently in 2015.  Poway Crossings is 80% leased to a variety of tenants, including LA Fitness, Dollar Tree and Big 5 Sporting Goods, Massage Envy, Sola Salon Studios, Sushi Lounge, Banfield Pet Hospital and KFC. 

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller was led by managing director Gleb Lvovich and director Daniel Tyner.

“We are pleased to have worked with two excellent groups on the execution of this sale,” Lvovich said.  “As part of our consultative approach, the HFF team worked with the seller for well over a year on strategic leasing decisions prior to the sale. 

Daniel Tyner

"We were fortunate to work with a strong buyer in Sterling Organization, which has deep retailer relationships that will be key to complete the repositioning of Poway Crossings.”

Holliday GP Corp. ("HFF") is a real estate broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate, License Number 01385740.

 CONTACTS:

GLEB LVOVICH

CA Lic. #01496699

HFF Managing Director

(949) 253-8800

glvovich@hfflp.com

DANIEL TYNER

CA Lic. #01959818

HFF Director

(949) 253-8800

dtyner@hfflp.com

KIMBERLY STEELE

HFF Digital Content/Public Relations Specialist

(713) 852-3420

ksteele@hfflp.com

http://sterlingorganization.com 

HFF closes sale of 5 Paragon Drive in Montvale, NJ

 5 Paragon Drive, 120,000-SF Class A office property, Montvale, NJ

Jose Cruz

MORRISTOWN, NJ –– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announces that it has closed the sale of 5 Paragon Drive, an approximately 120,000-square-foot, Class A office property in Montvale, New Jersey.

HFF represented the seller, a private equity firm, and procured the buyer.

5 Paragon Drive resides in the Upper Parkway Office submarket of Montvale, a community bordering New York State in Northern New Jersey. 

Kevin O'Hearn

Montvale offers a plentiful amenity base, including a new Wegmans Food Market and Life Time Fitness, and connectivity to the entire region via Montvale Train Station, the Garden State Parkway and Interstates 287/87. 

Additionally, Bergen County, where the property is located, is home to a significant number of corporate headquarters and operation headquarters for companies, including Sharp Corporation, Benjamin Moore, BMW and KPMG. 

Stephen Simonelli

5 Paragon Drive, which is 71% leased, features a two-story atrium lobby with large skylights, travertine marble and glass façade, a full-service cafeteria and park-like grounds. 

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller included senior managing directors Jose Cruz and Kevin O’Hearn, senior directors Stephen Simonelli and Michael Oliver and associate J.B. Bruno.

“We had very strong interest from national buyers on this asset given the location in Montvale and quality tenancy at the property. There was also upside in the available space,” Cruz stated.

HFF and Holliday GP Corp. are licensed New Jersey real estate brokers.

Michael Oliver

About HFF

HFF and its affiliates operate out of 26 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. 

HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform, including debt placement, investment advisory, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing. 

J.B. Bruno

 HFF, HFF Real Estate Limited, HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). 

 For more information, please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.

CONTACTS:

JOSE CRUZ

NJ Lic. #8743725

HFF Senior Managing Director

(973) 549-2000

jcruz@hfflp.com

KRISTEN MURPHY

HFF Director, Public Relations

(617) 338-0990

krmurphy@hfflp.com

Michael Jackson Ranch Listed Price Cut to $31 Million from $100 Million

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch and Mansion, Located in Santa Barbara County, Los Olivos, CA

Photo credit: Compass                          Source: suzanneperkins.com

Santa Barbara County, Los Olivos, CA, --Michael Jackson died ten years ago on June 25th and many people around the world will be commemorating his death through his music and videos. 

Michael Jackson

According to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, they will be celebrating his astronomical career, remembering his childhood, replay interviews and the work that went into organizing his last concert, This Is It, which he never had the chance to perform. 

Also to be remembered is his beloved Neverland Ranch, where he lived from 1987 until 2006.

 It was where he could finally experience childhood, having never experienced that luxury as part of his hard-working, family-singing group The Jackson Five. 

Two years after his death, Neverland was put on the market for $100 million, but never sold. Today, restored at great expense to its status as the original ranch when Michael purchased it, the estate is back on the market and reduced to $31 million.

The Jackson Five pop music group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine. Younger brothers Marlon and Michael Jackson joined soon after.

In 1977, developer William Bone bought the bare acreage and engaged an architect to design all the main structures on the property, dig the lake and install formal gardens. 

It was his own fantasy land of sorts as he was able to design it his way rather than at the direction of clients.

 It took him two years working with architect Robert Altevers to get the design to his liking. He named it Zaca Laderas Ranch and lived there until selling to Jackson.

William Bone

Jackson bought the 2,700-acre ranch in 1987 for about $25 million and then spent millions more to develop it as a child’s fantasy land, which he appropriately named Neverland after the Peter Pan story. 

The 13,000-square-foot main house, formal gardens, a four-acre lake with fountains and five-foot waterfall, along with an attractive stone bridge had already been built by Mr. Bone when Michael purchased the property. 

Michael added three railroads, a petting zoo and a full amusement park with nine major rides and an arcade. He also put in an electric railroad with 100-feet of track behind the house for his own children.

Suzanne Perkins

Neverland was Michael’s home until 2006 when he was charged with child molestation, which supposedly took place at the ranch. 

Although he was acquitted, the association of so much negativity to the ranch made it difficult for him to continue to live there. 

Except for caretakers, the ranch was closed. By 2007, Michael was behind in payments on his loan by about $23 million and the ranch was due to go on the auction block. 

Jackson's  former Neverland Ranch now restored to the original Sycamore Valley Ranch

However, investment group Colony Capital stepped in and bought the loan, making them co-owners.

 In 2009, Colony began restoring the ranch by removing the zoo and amusement park and replacing them with a Zen garden. The amusement park rides are now a part of the California State Fair in Sacramento.

Located in Santa Barbara County in Los Olivos, California, on the tenth anniversary of Michael Jackson’s passing, his former Neverland Ranch, now restored to the original Sycamore Valley Ranch, has had massive price reductions from the original $100 million to $31 million. 

The listing agent is Suzanne Perkins of Compass Realty, Montecito, California.

CONTACT:

Genelle C. Brown
Content Manager, Media Division
TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
Phone:  434-480-4504
Twitter:  @toptenrealestat
facebook.com/toptenrealestat  

Arbor Funds $2.5 Million Fannie Mae Small Loan in San Francisco, CA

  

495 14^th Avenue Apartments, San Francisco, CA

UNIONDALE, NY – Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR), a leading multifamily and commercial mortgage lender, recently funded a Fannie Mae Small Loan in San Francisco, CA.

 A nine-unit multifamily property, 495 14^th Avenue received $2.5M in refinance funding through the program. The loan includes a 30-year fixed-rate term.

David Galst

David Galst of Arbor’s Beverly Hills office originated the loan.

“The client was motivated by Arbor’s ability to provide a 30-year loan term,” said Galst. “Our hands-on and straightforward approach were key to making this deal a success.”

Built in 1920, 495 14^th Avenue offers its residents the perfect ‘City by the Bay’ lifestyle. 

Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Diamond District, this three-story property is a few blocks away from the Golden Gate Park and the Presidio of San Francisco. Multiple beaches, restaurants, coffee shops and shopping venues are all located nearby, giving the community a Walk Score of 94!

CONTACT:

Bina Handa

Tel: 516.506.4229

bhanda@arbor.com

Chicago Advance Auto Parts property for sale for $2.4 million

CHICAGO, IL – B+E, the first brokerage and technology platform for net lease real estate, announced that the Advance Auto Parts property at 3016 W Peterson Ave, Chicago, is for sale for $2.4 million.

The building is +/- 7,040 SF on +/- 0.43 acres of land and includes parking.  The property carries a cap rate of 5.85% with a remaining term of 8 years and 8 months.

Tim Hain

“Advance Auto Parts is a $9.5 billion leader in the auto parts market,” said Tim Hain with B+E.  “There are over 400,000 people within 3-miles of the property and over two million residents living within a 10-mile radius of the property.”

 Notable surrounding tenants include Walgreens, Bank of America, Starbucks, Target, T.J. Maxx, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Potbelly Sandwich Shop.

Contacts:

Tim Hain

THain@benetlease.com 

www.benetlease.com

John Vita

John Steven Vita Communications

John.vita@jsvcom.com

847/853-8283

Passco Cos. Acquires 300-Unit Luxury Multifamily Community in Destin, FL for $63.45 Million

Legacy on the Bay, a 300-unit luxury apartment community
in Destin, FL 

DESTIN, FL  — Passco Companies, a privately held California-based commercial real estate company that specializes in acquisition, development, and property and asset management throughout the U.S., has acquired Legacy on the Bay, a 300-unit luxury apartment community in Destin, Florida for $63.45 million.

Colin Gillis

This is Passco’s second multifamily asset acquisition in Destin in recent months, coming on the heels of the firm’s purchase of Class AA Sea Glass Apartments in December, according to Colin Gillis, Vice President of Acquisitions for Passco. 

“We’ve enthusiastically targeted the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin MSA for its strong track record and future economic expansion potential, as it continues to post the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Florida,” explains Gillis, also noting that Moody’s Analytics places the area in the top 10th percentile nationally for projected job growth over the next five years.

“Additionally, this market continues to have extremely high physical, political, and financial barriers to entry. There is only one multifamily asset in the pipeline in the entire MSA, despite significant in-migration and a population growth rate of more than twice the national average.”

Brian Moulder

Brian Moulder and Dhaval Patel of Walker & Dunlop represented the seller in this transaction.

“Legacy on the Bay presents a unique, high-yield investment opportunity due to its location less than a mile from some of the most desirable beaches in the country, and two miles from the thriving Destin Commons, a premier lifestyle center offering residents shopping, dining, and entertainment,” says Moulder.

“This will remain a strong overall investment as it matures. It was a pleasure to work with Passco’s dependable team once again on this transaction.”

The apartment community is located at 251 Vinings Way Boulevard in Destin, Florida.

Chris Black and Caleb Marten of KeyBank Real Estate Capital’s Commercial Mortgage Group arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Passco Companies.

Dhaval Patel

 Legacy on the Bay is located near U.S. Highway 98 and U.S. Highway 331, offering residents superior regional access, and has proximity to major employers including Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, Northwest Florida State College, and BAE Systems.

There has been a large influx of jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry driven by tourism to the ‘Emerald Coast,’ known for its white sand beaches and emerald green waters, which attracts approximately 4.5 million visitors each year.

“Due to our ownership of best-in-market Sea Glass Apartments, located just a few miles down the road from Legacy, we already have our finger on the pulse of the local market and resident demands,” says Gillis.

Chris Black

“Thus, we are better positioned to strategically approach the operation of this asset. Through adding this core-plus investment to our portfolio, we will hold two distinct and in-demand offerings in Destin.”

The firm plans to implement value-add upgrades at the property, including minor renovations to refresh and modernize interiors and the addition of in-unit washer/dryers.

Gillis also highlights that the property features the largest floorplans in the submarket, including a rare four-bedroom option.

“Legacy’s spacious one, two, three, and four-bedroom floorplans are well-suited to its location, which offers tranquil living surrounded by lush greenery,” confirms Gillis.

 “Further, the larger floor plans are appealing to families who are drawn to the Okaloosa County School District, one of the top five districts in the state.”

Caleb Martin

Gillis notes that Legacy’s residents also enjoy quick access to several shopping, dining, and entertainment options, including a Whole Foods Market, Bass Pro Shops, Belk, H&M, Chipotle, and 14-screen AMC Theatre at Destin Commons.

Legacy’s units include screened balconies and patios, stainless steel appliances, deep kitchen sinks with upgraded spray hoses, custom cabinetry, refrigerators, dishwashers, built-in shelving, walk-in closets, ceramic-tiled foyers, security alarms, air conditioning, and ceiling fans with brush nickel accents.

CONTACTS:

Micaela Fehrenbach / Elisabeth Manville

Brower Group

(949) 438-6262

emanville@brower-group.com