4100 Newport Place Dr. 4100 Newport Place is one of the largest and highest-profile office buildings in Newport Beach.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA—American Realty Advisors, one of the largest privately held real estate investment-management firms in the US, has sold 4100 Newport Place Dr., a 190,405-square-foot, class-A office tower here, to Olen Properties, a commercial and residential real estate development and management company, for $75.6 million. According to the listing brokers, the transaction reflects the highest office-investment sale so far this year in Orange County based on price per square foot.

Olen has been eyeing properties in different sectors on both coasts. As we reported in August, the firm had purchased AMLI at Milton Park—renamed Lakeside at Milton Park—a 461-unit mixed-use asset in Alpharetta, GA, that included multifamily, from a joint venture between AMLI Residential and Northwestern Mutual for an undisclosed amount.

Cushman & Wakefield capital-markets specialists Jeffrey Cole, Marc Renard, Ed Hernandez and Nico Napolitano represented the seller in the disposition. According to Cole, executive managing director, “4100 Newport Place is one of the largest and highest-profile office buildings in Newport Beach. The property offers stable in-place tenancy as well as exceptional value enhancement potential in a dynamic market poised for significant rental rate growth. Olen Properties, which maintains a long-term ownership approach, was an ideal buyer for this high-quality property.”

The institutional-quality building totals nine stories on a 3.7-acre site and features a dramatic four-story vaulted atrium and resort-style lobby environment and recently modernized mechanical systems, elevator systems, upgraded corridors and restrooms. Hernandez, a director, says, “This is an exceptionally well-maintained property in a world-class coastal location with landmark identity, an unparalleled coastal live/work lifestyle, an amenity rich environment, plus immediate access to John Wayne Airport and high-end residential neighborhoods.”

Cushman & Wakefield’s latest market report showed Newport Beach office vacancy in single digits at 9.4% at midyear 2017, just below Orange County’s overall vacancy rate of 10.9%. In terms of leasing activity, Newport Beach was among the county’s most active submarkets through the first half of 2017.