Westcore Affiliate Buys 78 Bank Branches for $90M

Brutten

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

Radnor Holdings Co., an affiliate of San Diego-based Westcore Properties, has acquired 78 bank branches from CT Capital in this roundup of commercial real estate news in the West. According to Marc Brutten, chairman and president of Westcore, the branches are all long-term net leased to Charter One and Citizens Bank in various locations throughout the Midwest and New England. “Radnor is typically a portfolio buyer of net-leased real estate and holds these assets for long-term appreciation and cash flow,” Brutten said. With this most recent purchase, Radnor Holdings now owns and manages an existing portfolio of 168 net-leased fast food, drug store and service station properties throughout the Midwest and East Coast.

Eastlake Center

Pathfinder Partners of San Diego has brought a long-stalled office condo project back onto the market. The company has acquired the Eastlake Medical and Professional Center and has renamed it Eastlake Professional Center, with commercial brokerage firm Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial as the listing agent. The project, which consists of six class-A office medical and office buildings on 4.2 acres, with 10 suites ranging from 5,200 to 10,700 square feet, is an office and medical condominium development on Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista’s Eastlake area. According to Mitch Siegler, senior managing director of Pathfinder Partners, his company bought the 68,000-square-foot property at a foreclosure sale in April. Said Siegler: “Sales at the property, which received its certificate of occupancy in 2008, had been stalled for several years. The original borrower defaulted on the $16.3 million loan and was embroiled in litigation with the lender, preventing the sale of any condos.” Pathfinder, as an all-cash buyer, reset the project’s cost basis and will now offer units starting at $139 per square foot, compared with the more than $300 per square foot the units were marketed at three years ago.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

St. Germaine Apartments

Owners of the 49-unit St. Germaine Apartments have refinanced the seven-story property, which was built in 1929 and has a Hollywood history, with a $5.1 million Fannie Mae DUS loan arranged by Beech Street Capital. The fixed-rate, 10-year term loan, with 9.5 years of yield maintenance and a 30-year amortization schedule, is payable on an actual/360 basis. Beech Street notes that the complex was built by architect F. Leland A. Bryant in the French Norman style that was so popular at the time. Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, and Frank Sinatra all lived in Los Angeles apartments designed by Bryant. The transaction was originated by Meridian Capital Group and was financed by Beech Street Capital as part of its correspondent relationship with Meridian. The Beech Street team consisted of underwriter Kanett Curtis, underwriter Rohit Khanna and closing coordinator Lisa Pierotti, who specializes in closing small loans. Ben Grossman was the Meridian broker.

Exxel Outdoors acquired 341-345 Baldwin Park Blvd. in the City of Industry from Bentall Kennedy US for $8.2 million. The property consists of three buildings totaling 156,679 square feet of industrial space that were built in 1970 and sit on seven acres. Exxel was represented by SVP David Wu of Grubb & Ellis Co. Exxel, a manufacturer and distributor of outdoor gear, will use the property for its western distribution center, as well as its corporate, sales and design offices. Bentall Kennedy was represented by John Privett, Jeff Stephens and Cameron Merrill of CB Richard Ellis.

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1129 N. Sepulveda Blvd.jpg

A private investor bought a 4,000-square-foot LEED Gold Wells Fargo bank branch at 1129 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhattan Beach for more than $1,900 per square foot, one of the highest price-per-square-foot transactions in California this year, according to Studley's National Retail Services Group. The seller was 1129 Sepulveda BMPD LLC, a venture between Eastern Real Estate and the principals of Paragon Commercial Group and its investors. EVP Bill Bauman and Kyle Miller, managing director, of Studley’s National Retail Services Group, co-listed the property with Mike Grannis of Highland Partners. Studley and Highland Partners also represented the buyer, who owns additional commercial real estate assets in Manhattan Beach. Said Bauman, “The seller felt the timing was right to capture market momentum and the attention of private investors seeking quality, core real estate.”

ORANGE COUNTY

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal Medical Center at 23521 Paseo de Valencia in Laguna Hills has signed Sea View Pediatrics to a 10-year 6,700-square-foot lease in the first medical lease since the start of construction and rebranding of the property by The Muller Co. of Laguna Hills. Sea View, which was represented by Jake Stickel and Brad Schmitt of CB Richard Ellis in Newport Beach, is scheduled to occupy the space beginning in August. The Muller Co. was represented by its former broker, Michael Anderson-Mitterling of Grubb & Ellis in Newport Beach, Recently, Muller hired a new brokerage firm, Zuvich Corporate Advisors of Irvine, which specializes in the marketing and leasing of medical buildings. ZCA's Eric Tse and Mark Zuvich are now the leasing agents for the Taj Mahal, which is a 78,853-square-foot, four-story building across the street from Saddleback Memorial Hospital. Once Sea View moves onto the second floor, 48% of the building’s tenants will be medical, noted Brandon Muller, leasing manager at The Muller Co. The next phase of construction for the Taj Mahal, slated to begin in July 2011, will take place on the northern part of the property, with changes such as a more convenient and user-friendly access to the medical center, updated landscape with water features, and the addition of full-sized parking spaces. The renovation is scheduled to be completed in late 2012.

1400 Newport Center Dr.

Surterre Properties Inc. signed a six-year, $4.5 million, 19,592-square-foot lease modification with the Irvine Co. at 1400 Newport Center Dr. in Newport Beach. Surterre, a residential real estate firm with more than 250 professionals, was represented by ORION Property Partners' Jay Carnahan and Troy Leland. The property is part of the Irvine Co.’s Corporate Plaza, a collection of low-rise, class A steel-frame office buildings close to Fashion Island and Corona Del Mar Plaza.

INLAND EMPIRE

Phoenix Realty Group acquired a portfolio of 432 apartment units in three properties in the cities of San Bernardino and Highland for $21.5 million from a lender that had taken back the assets in 2009 and embarked on an 18-month intensive management effort that brought occupancy up to 95%. The three complexes are Ascot Park (160 units in 25 two-story buildings) and Summit Place (80 units in 10 two-story buildings) in San Bernardino, and Park Heights (192 units in 15 two-story buildings) in Highland. Edward Ratinoff, managing director of national acquisitions for Phoenix, commented on the assets: "A year ago, these properties were in poor shape due to low occupancies, largely driven by poor management and a lack of maintenance. But aggressive management and capital improvements restored them into the type of middle-market, family-friendly apartments that our institutional real estate funds target.” The improved conditions allowed PRG to obtain attractive financing from Freddie Mac, he added. Given the distressed history of the properties, the seller sought a buyer with a strong reputation for closing and the capacity to purchase the entire portfolio, according to PRG managing director Alex Saunders. The properties include market-rate and government-subsidized units. Coastline Real Estate Advisors, which stabilized the properties' operations over the past year, was maintained as the property management firm for the complexes. The seller was represented by Ron Harris and Alex Garcia of Marcus & Millichap, Los Angeles. PRG represented itself.

Crystal Cal No. 1 LLC of Los Angeles bought a 7,866-square-foot multi-tenant retail building at 2220 S. Grove Ave. in a Lowe's-anchored shopping center in Ontario called The Marketplace on Grove for an undisclosed price at a cap rate of 7.35% in a 1031 Exchange purchase. The seller was represented by Edward B. Hanley and William B. Asher of Irvine, CA-based Hanley Investment Group Real Estate. Built in 2007, the freestanding building is situated on a parcel of just under an acre and was 100% occupied at the time of sale. The buyer was represented by Stephen Chan of G.E. Property Management Inc., in Alhambra, Calif. The seller was NMC Grove Ontario LLC of Woodland Hills, CA.