Sacramento

California is opening its doors to private companies—small and large, privately and publicly owned, domestic and international, in all relevant fields—to seek their interest in participating in the development of California’s high-speed rail system, the largest infrastructure project in the nation. The California High-Speed Rail Authority on Wednesday issued a request for expressions of interest as a first step in the procurement process that will award contracts for the first $5.5 billion in construction and ultimately for the design and construction of the entire system, its trainsets, and its operations and maintenance. “Every day, we hear from the private sector that companies are eagerly looking forward to helping develop California’s high-speed train system. This request for expressions of interest is the chance for companies large and small—from the self-employed business person in the Central Valley to multinational corporations—to tell us exactly what roles they hope to play in making high-speed rail travel a reality in California,” says Roelof van Ark, chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. “With Proposition 1A, Californians did their part with state funding, and the federal government has stepped up with a pledge for a long-term commitment to high-speed rail. We are now eager to hear from the private sector.” The RFEI is not a required, binding part of the procurement process, but it is an opportunity for the private sector to formally weigh in on the largest infrastructure project in the nation by outlining their interest in the project. It also gives the California High-Speed Rail Authority a tool to shape the procurement process going forward.

Two signature office buildings in the mixed-use Sacramento Gateway development in Sacramento are the latest acquisition by KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II of Newport Beach, CA. The complex, known as Gateway Corporate Center, encompasses two identical, three-story office buildings containing 116,918 square feet for a combined total of 233,836 square feet. The complex is 91% occupied by 13 tenants, with the California State Board of Equalization, California Department of Industrial Relations and Jacobs Engineering collectively occupying 57%. The acquisition price was $47 million or $203 per square foot. Grant Lammersen and George Eckerd of Cushman and Wakefield represented the seller in the acquisition. KBS Capital Advisors represented KBS REIT II. Gateway Corporate Center becomes the sixth Sacramento-area property owned by KBS-affiliated companies, for a total of more than 665,000 square feet in the market.

Orange County

Dorsey & Whitney LLP has signed a long term lease for approximately 30,000 square feet on the 20th and 21st Penthouse floors of Plaza Tower. Occupancy is scheduled for July 1, 2011. Dorsey's Southern California office has strong practices in mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, capital markets, labor and employment, complex business litigation, securities litigation, and compliance advice. The attorneys in this office represent emerging growth, midsize, and public companies in a variety of sectors including technology, life sciences, manufacturing, finance, consumer products, and retail, among other sectors. “We are delighted that Dorsey and Whitney have chosen to locate its Southern California office in Plaza Tower,” says Henry Segerstrom, managing partner of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons. “The South Coast Plaza area will afford Dorsey many amenities, all within a brief walk, including Segerstrom Center for the Arts, world class shopping and fine dining.”

X Team International, an international alliance of retail real estate advisors, revealed that Newport Beach, CA-based partner Strategic Retail Advisors has been retained as the exclusive leasing agent for Dollar Tree Inc. in Orange County and San Gabriel Valley, CA. Dollar Tree is looking for new locations from 8,000 to 12,000 square feet in the Southern California trade area. The company is focused on regional centers with high visibility and strong traffic counts, but will consider all locations. Blaine Bush and Wally Limburg of SRA will represent Dollar Tree in Orange County, while Jeff Reenders will be responsible for San Gabriel Valley.

San Francisco

Appian Capital and San Francisco-based Presidio Development Partners LLC, recently entered into a joint venture to acquire Parkpoint Business Center, a northern California REO office property. The project is a five-building, 70,000-square-foot office complex located in Santa Rosa, CA. The property, which is 60% leased, was purchased from CW Capital, a loan servicer that foreclosed on the property in June 2010. David Kidder, managing director of Appian Capital’s Newport Beach office notes, “An attractive component of this investment is our ability to own several buildings on separate legal parcels, allowing for a flexible business plan with multiple exit scenarios. The investment is also consistent with our strategy of partnering with strong, local operators and providing $3 million to $10 million of equity per project, a segment which is underserved in the capital markets.” The joint venture plans to renovate the outdoor common areas, building exteriors, and signage, and market the individual buildings to both owner/users and as leased investments.

Los Angeles

An affiliate of KTR Capital Partners has closed on the acquisition of 3690 Redondo Beach Ave. in Redondo Beach, CA. The 100,697-square-foot warehouse facility is situated on approximately six acres located three miles west of the south cargo entrance of the Los Angeles International Airport. The building features 24-foot clear ceiling height and 14 dock high positions. Upon closing, KTR plans to redevelop and reposition the building with expanded loading, upgraded sprinklers and HVAC systems and new spec office space. Brian Gagne, vice president of investments at KTR says that “Opportunities to acquire property in the LAX air cargo corridor are rare. 3690 Redondo Beach Avenue is well located and our capital improvement plans will make it one of the most functional and desirable distribution buildings in the submarket. We had strong prospect activity prior to even closing on the asset.”

Robert K. Futterman & Associates recently arranged an 18,185-square-foot retail lease with Salon Republic at 8000 Sunset, at the base of Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. Salon Republic took the second floor of the 165,000-square-foot building, situated on the southeast corner of North Crescent Heights and Sunset Boulevards that recently underwent a $9 million renovation. This will be the full-service salon’s largest store in the country and is scheduled to open in fall 2011. RKF executive vice president Rob Cohen and senior vice president Rachel Rosenberg represented the landlord, a joint venture of private investors and fund sponsored by Transwestern Investment Co. LLC. The tenant was represented by Jeff Lipson, senior vice president and Gonzalo Rioja, regional vice president of Stone Miller. “This retail space offers excellent visibility along one of the most premier intersections in Los Angeles and is the perfect location for Salon Republic,” says Cohen.

Inland Empire, CA

The Inland Empire team of Voit Real Estate Services has successfully completed both a sale and a lease for marketing giant Vertis Communications, aiding Vertis in its post-bankruptcy re-growth. Frank Geraci, Walt Chenoweth, Patrick Wood and Juan Gutierrez of Voit’s Inland Empire office worked together to direct Vertis’ $2.2 million sale of a 21,799-square-foot R&D property in Glendora, while concurrently renewing Vertis’ $1.9-million lease of a 144,542-square-foot industrial building in Pomona. The seller and lessee, Vertis Communications Inc., is a national provider of targeted advertising and marketing solutions for America's leading retail and consumer services companies. “Our team worked closely with Vertis throughout the economic storm to help the company navigate each transaction in a way that is most beneficial to them,” says Chenoweth, EVP of Voit’s Inland Empire office. “For instance, we directed the company’s lease renewal six months prior to its expiration, reducing the rent significantly and locking in a low rate for an additional three years.” The Geraci-Chenoweth-Wood-Gutierrez team worked with Gil Hutzler at CBRE in Baltimore to represent Vertis as the seller of the industrial property located at 511 W. Citrus Edge Street in Glendora, CA. The buyer was represented by a private individual. In addition, the Voit team worked with CBRE to represent Vertis as the lessee in the renewal of its three-year lease at 3200 Pomona Blvd. in Pomona, CA. The lessor, TA Associates Realty, was represented by Colliers International.

Las Vegas

The local housing market has hit a milestone. According to statistics recently released by the greater Las Vegas Association of realtors, 51% of all existing homes being sold in Southern Nevada are now being purchased with cash. GLVAR president Paul Bell says this represents a first for the housing market in Southern Nevada—and perhaps for any other part of the country. “This percentage of cash buyers has been increasing steadily for more than a year. We’ve been saying for months that we could eventually see cash buyers accounting for more than half of all our sales,” Bell says. “We’re now at 51%, so we’ve reached that threshold. In checking with our counterparts around the country, we have yet to find another major metropolitan area where so many buyers are paying cash for homes.” Bell says this influx of cash buyers “says a lot about what’s happening in our housing market.” He said the vast majority of these buyers are investors who are renting out, rather than occupying, the homes they’re buying. While it would be ideal if they were all living in the homes they’re buying, he said “cash buyers are still purchasing thousands of local homes that might otherwise sit vacant. I’d say we’re fortunate to have these buyers investing in our community. These smart money buyers are voting with their pocketbooks on the future of our local housing market.”

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Infrastructure Project Opens Door to Private Interest

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