L.A. Is Onni's US Market of Choice

LOS ANGELES—Onni Group, a Vancouver-based developer and investor, is bullish on the Los Angeles real estate market, as evidenced by the firm's sudden activity in recent years. In an earlier story, GlobeSt.com reported that the Onni Group purchased 800 Wilshire, a 227,000-square-foot office building in Downtown Los Angeles, from Lincoln Property Co. Now, the firm has cited location as a key driver in the acquisition, while listing the Los Angeles market as their US market of choice.

"We have invested fairly heavily in DTLA and are pretty bullish on that market," Daniel Bell, an acquisitions executive at the Onni Group, tells GlobeSt.com. "We own a number of other office properties, including 600 Wilshire, which is a couple of blocks away, and believe there's some synergy, having them close, in terms of management, because we manage our properties, and our intention is to capture what we see as a rise in the downtown office market going forward." 

But, it isn't only the Downtown Los Angeles market that interests the firm. Onni has been making purchases throughout the L.A. market, including the Manhattan Beach Towers in Manhattan Beach. "L.A. is certainly our market of choice in the US and our intention is to continue to invest and grow the portfolio," says Bell. "On the office side, we believe certain submarkets within the city offer tenants and investors a value proposition as the overall LA office market and economy continue to improve."

The sales price of the property was not disclosed, although sources unrelated to the deal say that Onni purchased the property for $80 million. Lincoln Property Co. had already repositioned the property, driving rents to 95%. In line with all of Onni's purchases, it plans to hold this property for the long term.