BBCN Bank Takes 62,385-SF Headquarter Lease

(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare REAL ESTATE 2012, March 22^nd in Los Angeles).

LOS ANGELES-BBCN Bank, the new entity formed as a result of the merger between Nara Bank and Center Bank, will occupy 62,385 square feet of office space at the Wilshire Colonnade, 3731 Wilshire Blvd. here. The majority of Center Bank’s headquarter-based employees are expected to relocate to the new headquarters in mid-2012 when construction of the expansion space is complete, according to a prepared statement.

The 10-year lease extends the former Nara’s existing lease for 43,993 square feet on floors four, 10 and 11, and adds an additional 18,392 square feet of expansion space for the full second floor. According to the release, the transaction structure also takes advantage of two retail locations owned by former Center Bank, with certain employees moving to these facilities to maximize capacity.  

“With the merger, BBCN is now the largest Korean American bank in the country,” according to global tenant advisory firm Studley, which worked on the deal. BBCN Bank was represented by Norman Y. Lee, managing director, and Matthew Brainard, corporate managing director, with the firm.

Lee tells GlobeSt.com that the asking rate of the building is $1.95 per square foot, but he could not provide further terms like aggregate lease value or taking rent. “The requirement was triggered by a ‘merger of equals’ and the transaction structure leverages existing locations and infrastructure to provide our client with an economically advantageous and operationally efficient real estate footprint,” Lee explains.   

According to Brainard, “Additionally, the selected alternative was the least disruptive to the bank’s business operations, allowing our client to maintain its flagship headquarters in Koreatown, close to its key customer base.”

The Wilshire Colonnade complex consists of two, 11-story office buildings totaling 367,020 square feet. Owner Wilshire Colonnade Corp. was represented in the transaction by Charles Dunn, Amir Madadi and Steve Reizes of Charles Dunn Real Estate Services.