SAN DIEGO-H.G. Fenton Co. has acquired the 114,000-square foot Cornerstone Business Center office and R&D business park from an affiliate of TA Associates Realty for $14 million in a 1031 exchange. The new owner plans to renovate the property, which is situated at 6181-6199 Cornerstone Court East in the Sorrento Mesa submarket , with upgraded landscaping, parking lot improvements and new roofs.

Cornerstone Business Center comprises four office and R&D buildings that are 89% leased. Fenton's 1031 exchange involved the sale of Lot 6 in the company’s Fenton Technology Park in Sorrento Mesa.

Buddy Bohrer, director of acquisitions and dispositions for Fenton, says that the Cornerstone center "appealed to us because of its outstanding location and stable roster of quality tenants,” which include Hitachi High Technologies of America, Continental Lab Products, Axxora Inc. and Henry Schein Inc. “With very little land available for development in the popular mid-county markets, there is steady tenant demand for projects such as Cornerstone," Bohrer says.

Both H.G. Fenton and the seller, the Realty Associates Fund VI L.P. c/o TA Associates Realty, were represented by Rick Reeder and Brad Tecca of Cassidy/Turley BRE Commercial. Bryce Aberg and Brant Aberg of Cassidy/Turley will continue to lease the property.

The Cornerstone acquisition expands Fenton's portfolio in the Sorrento Mesa/Miramar area to more than one million square feet. The company owns and manages a San Diego County commercial real estate portfolio totaling more than three million square feet and an apartment portfolio totaling 3,000 units in 12 communities.

Bohrer says that Fenton is on the lookout for more acquisitions. "We are actively looking for well-positioned multi-tenant properties that will meet the needs of small- to medium-sized businesses,” he says.