Pendulum-Seligman Partnership Acquires Liberty Station Complex

The deal for Liberty Station comprises six separate assets that feature a total of 20 buildings.

Liberty Station, San Diego, CA

SAN DIEGO—A partnership of Michigan-based Seligman Group and Pendulum Property Partners of Irvine, CA has acquired a portion of the Liberty Station mixed-use property here from McMillin Companies.

Commercial brokerage firm HFF reports that the deal involves a total of 321,208 square feet of urban, infill retail space, a marketplace and with dual grocery anchors. No financial terms of the transaction were released. However, sources familiar with the deal tell Globest.com that the deal was valued in excess of $160 million.

HFF, which represented San Diego-based McMillin in the deal, also placed a 10-year, fixed-rate loan and negotiated payoff of an extremely complex in-place participating loan in connection with the property trade, HFF states.

The deal for Liberty Station comprises six separate assets that feature a total of 20 buildings: The Marketplace, The Landing, Building 193, Harbor Square, North Chapel and the 16.16-acre Sail Ho Golf Course. The 92% leased property is home to such retail tenants as Vons and Trader Joe’s, Liberty Public Market and more than 30 food and beverage outlets, including Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens, Buona Forchetta, Nekter, Tender Greens, Breakfast Republic, Soda & Swine and Starbucks.

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller—McMillin Companies—consisted of managing directors Gleb Lvovich and Bryan Ley and senior managing director Tim Wright, along with Mike Moser of Retail Insite as the leasing expert.

The HFF debt placement team representing the new owner included executive managing director Kevin MacKenzie, Wright and senior director Brian Torp.

Liberty Station is situated within the greater 360-acre Liberty Station master plan, which includes 850 homes onsite; 350 hotel rooms; more than 400,000 square feet of office space; a nearly 100-acre arts district that is home to more than 120 museums and galleries; and the High Tech School campus with more than 3,500 students enrolled in elementary, middle and high schools.

According to a report in the San Diego Business Journal, McMillin will continue to own one hotel site, two hotels under construction and some office space at the former Naval Training Center that closed in 1997.