Centerline Taps Clark for Western Region

IRVINE, CA-Centerline Capital Group has promoted Darrell Clark to regional director for the western region. He will be responsible primarily for originating Fannie Mae Small Loan transactions in California and Arizona, reporting to Rick Warren, head of the small loan division of the firm's mortgage banking group. Clark has been with Centerline since January 2010, moving from senior underwriter to deputy chief underwriter by 2012. Prior to joining the company, he was with Greystone in Memphis and Pasadena.

IRVINE, CA-TRI Pointe Homes Inc. has appointed Brad Blank as VP/general counsel, effective January 20. Blank is a practicing attorney in California, specializing in corporate and securities law. Most recently, he was an associate in the Orange County office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he worked on complicated corporate and real estate transactions, as well as corporate governance and NYSE compliance matters. Prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Blank was a senior accountant at Arthur Andersen and Kushner, Smith, Joanou and Gregson LLP.

IRVINE, CA-Bixby Land Co. has promoted Aaron Hill, Mike Severson and Mike Hodges, each of whom has been with the company for more than five years in roles integral to its growth. Hill, who has been promoted to SVP, operations, has been involved in all areas of the business since joining the firm in 2006, with a focus on leasing, operations and acting as the primary operations interface with Bixby's institutional investment partners. Severson, who has been promoted to SVP, investments, also joined Bixby in 2006 and has been responsible for the company's acquisition of more than $1 billion in commercial projects. Hodges, who has been named VP, construction/development, has led the redevelopment of numerous office projects since 2007 and has been instrumental in establishing Bixby as a creative developer capable of executing complex and large-scale projects.

SALES

SAN DIEGO-San Diego Unified School District has sold Mission Beach Center, located at 818 and 825 Santa Barbara Pl. here, to McKellar McGowan LLC for $18.5 million. John Gross of Colliers International represented the buyer; the seller had no representation. The buyer plans to redevelop the property as a residential project. Located on 2.23 acres, the property is a former elementary school that was vacated in 1996.

ONTARIO, CA-Irvine-based Lotus Real Estate Partners LLC, a new investment and development firm with a focus on value-add real estate equity and debt investments, has closed its first transaction. Lotus Real Estate Partners, in conjunction with its investment partner Ness Holdings Inc. of Los Angeles, acquired a promissory note on a class-A, 35,767-square-foot industrial building here for $2.6 million. According to Brian J. Walker, managing partner of Lotus, the note was in default at the time of acquisition and was acquired from EverTrust Bank, secured by a first mortgage lien on 2235 E. Francis St. Following the acquisition, the venture foreclosed on the property through a trustee sale. Located on 1.83 acres, the building features a 24-ft. clear height, secured truck yard, ESFR sprinkler system and approximately 1,800 square feet of office space. The buyer was represented by Brad Yates and Richard Schwartz of the Ontario office of Colliers International. The equity was arranged through Grant Ross with CBRE's Los Angeles office.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Industry sources report that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is looking to sell 196 acres California coastal land that has approvals for residential development and was the subject of a legal fight. Bids for the Orange County land known as Marblehead Coastal, which has 308 entitled home lots, were due this week, according to Land Advisors Organization, which is brokering the sale for Lehman. It's unclear how much the land is expected to fetch.

SAN DIEGO-Kilroy Realty Corp. has sold a 12-property office portfolio totaling nearly 1.1 million square feet throughout the Sorrento Mesa and Rancho Bernardo submarkets of San Diego to an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group Global, a leading private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, for an unspecified amount. The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing directors Nick Psyllos and Ryan Gallagher and senior managing director and co-head of HFF's national office investment sales platform Michael Leggett. The buyer purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. HFF also arranged a variable-rate acquisition loan on behalf of the buyer through Wells Fargo Bank and CIBC as the senior lenders and Goldman Sachs as the mezzanine lender. HFF's debt placement team was led by senior managing directors Tim Wright and Don Curtis and managing director Aldon Cole.

DEVELOPMENT

TEMECULA, CA-Pechanga Resort & Casino officially unveiled the multi-million-dollar renovation of its 22,000-square-foot hotel lobby, two restaurants and two new dining outlets, which began in September. The resort's contractors and 350 construction workers completed the project just before the end of 2013. Economist Dr. Manfred Keil estimates that the renovation of the 25,000 square feet inside the property results in an economic impact of approximately $20 million. The economic impact is based on purchases and salaries and wages for more than 350 construction workers. The renovation is also expected to create another 90 permanent positions within the resort. Pechanga put another 100 people into permanent positions as a result of its grand renovation. Jobs include cooks, baristas, servers, managers and maintenance technicians.

LEASES

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-PM Realty Group has signed two office renewal leases: one for 44,977 square feet at the two-story 17461 Derian Ave. in the Airport area and another for 39,079 square feet at 333 City Blvd. in Orange. In the first transaction, SVP Tim Joyce represented Essex Realty Trust in the seven-year renewal lease to Test America Laboratories, the first company to occupy space in the building more than 10 years ago; the tenant has extended its lease term through the end of 2020. In the second transaction, Joyce and SVP Oliver Fleener represented Torchlight's court-appointed receiver, Terri Riker. The Regents of the University of California, represented by broker John Spezia, occupies multiple suites on several floors of the 20-story office tower. The transaction included six separate lease renewals pertaining to 10 different suites throughout the building. Each lease was renewed for an additional three years for a total consideration of just under $3 million. UCI has occupied space in the building for a number of years and will continue to operate multiple departments out of this location.

LOCKEFORD, CA-Binswanger, working with John Fondale, Cornish & Carey Commercial, has been named exclusive agent to represent NCI Building Systems with the sale and/or lease of a 143,960-square-foot industrial facility at 12101 East Brandt Rd. here on approximately 23.9 acres. Key features of the building include steel frame with metal siding construction; concrete floor; steel roof; steel columns variably spaced; ceiling heights ranging from 12-28 ft.; metal halide lighting; 23 grade-level doors; one 2-ton jib cranes, seven 5-ton cranes and one 15-ton crane; and approximately 5,280 sq. ft. of two-story, air-conditioned office space. The property is approximately 5.5 miles east of State Highway 99 and is situated in the heart of the California Central Valley. Binswanger is aggressively marketing the property to prospects in the agriculture, food manufacturing, wood production, paper and machinery manufacturing industries.

GARDEN GROVE, CA-Brandywine Homes is now leasing apartments at Waterstone, one of its first multifamily developments. Renters have signed the first leases and begun moving in. The 25-unit project consisting of two- and three-bedroom townhomes and flats on .887 acres near Dale St. and Stanford Ave. here is expected to help address the affordable-housing shortage in Orange County, where vacancy rates for apartments stand at 4.3% and rents in some areas are at a record high. Brandywine is leasing the homes primarily to couples and young families who are most likely already renting in the area but looking for a newer place.

FINANCING

SAN FRANCISCO-A10 Capital has funded a $16.4-million non-recourse bridge loan to fund the acquisition of two industrial/flex buildings in the local metro area. The commercial mortgage is secured by two class-B R & D/flex buildings and provided approximately 65% leverage. The proceeds were used to fund the acquisition of the buildings as well as committed funds to facilitate capital expenditures and the future lease up of the property. John Neff, principal & EVP of A10 Capital, who structured and closed the loan, says that the sponsor is an experienced CRE investment firm that focuses on properties in need of physical upgrades and/or re-tenanting. The loan was placed by Terry Daly of Cassidy Turley.

OAKLAND, CA-CBRE has arranged $4.5 million in long-term non-recourse financing for the 51,000-square-foot, mixed-use Ironworks building at 550-590 Second St. in the Jack London Square district here. The San Francisco-based CBRE debt & structured finance team of Jim Korinek, EVP; Michael Walker, VP; and Kyle Yoshino, analyst, originated the loan on behalf of Metrovation. CBRE placed the financing with a national private banking institution that is active in the Bay Area.