Tenant Migration Leads to Well-Established Tenant Base

WALNUT CREEK, CA—With no new construction since 2003 and very few properties trading hands in this upscale suburban city, activity of any kind is of interest. But when it is the sale of Tishman Speyer's California Plaza, that is another story. GlobeSt.com has learned that the asset sold for $132 million or $348 per square foot to CBRE Global Investors. Tishman bought the building in December 2013 for $102.8 million in order to perform renovations.

The 10-story nearly 400,000-square-foot asset is located at 2121 North California Blvd. It is in close proximity to the Walnut Creek BART station with direct frontage along Interstate 680.

And, the amenity-rich location is about to finally get long-awaited new construction and become even more attractive to tenants. California Plaza is adjacent to the master-planned Walnut Creek BART Transit Village, a 16-acre transit-oriented mixed-use development district surrounding the Walnut Creek BART station with a 2017 scheduled groundbreaking.

“Representing the third 100% interest institutional sales transaction in Walnut Creek since 2009, California Plaza lies within one of the highest barrier-to-entry core submarkets in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Steve Golubchik, co-head of NGKF Capital Markets Northern California, who handled the sale with Breck Lutz, Tim Walling, Grant Lammersen and Edmund Najera. “No new buildings have been constructed here since 2003 and very few properties trade hands in this highly desirable area. We saw an abundant amount of interest in this asset, even in today's market, with investors representing both domestic funds as well as European foreign separate accounts and Asian capital.”

Built in 1986, California Plaza is occupied with a diversified tenant base including Yapstone, CSE Insurance Group, Sutter Health MWH (now part of Stantec), Konica Minolta Inc., Blue Cross, Mass Mutual Financial Group, Mutual of Omaha and Basic American Foods. The premium corporate destination features a three-story underground garage, first-class tenant amenities, high-end finishes and dramatic views of Mt. Diablo.

“Walnut Creek is a fundamentally strong urban infill market, which has seen significant tenant migration from Oakland and San Francisco over the past two years, adding to its well-established tenant base,” Golubchik tells GlobeSt.com. “California Plaza represents an incredible investment opportunity with upside potential as vacancy is now approaching the single digits.”

WALNUT CREEK, CA—With no new construction since 2003 and very few properties trading hands in this upscale suburban city, activity of any kind is of interest. But when it is the sale of Tishman Speyer's California Plaza, that is another story. GlobeSt.com has learned that the asset sold for $132 million or $348 per square foot to CBRE Global Investors. Tishman bought the building in December 2013 for $102.8 million in order to perform renovations.

The 10-story nearly 400,000-square-foot asset is located at 2121 North California Blvd. It is in close proximity to the Walnut Creek BART station with direct frontage along Interstate 680.

And, the amenity-rich location is about to finally get long-awaited new construction and become even more attractive to tenants. California Plaza is adjacent to the master-planned Walnut Creek BART Transit Village, a 16-acre transit-oriented mixed-use development district surrounding the Walnut Creek BART station with a 2017 scheduled groundbreaking.

“Representing the third 100% interest institutional sales transaction in Walnut Creek since 2009, California Plaza lies within one of the highest barrier-to-entry core submarkets in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Steve Golubchik, co-head of NGKF Capital Markets Northern California, who handled the sale with Breck Lutz, Tim Walling, Grant Lammersen and Edmund Najera. “No new buildings have been constructed here since 2003 and very few properties trade hands in this highly desirable area. We saw an abundant amount of interest in this asset, even in today's market, with investors representing both domestic funds as well as European foreign separate accounts and Asian capital.”

Built in 1986, California Plaza is occupied with a diversified tenant base including Yapstone, CSE Insurance Group, Sutter Health MWH (now part of Stantec), Konica Minolta Inc., Blue Cross, Mass Mutual Financial Group, Mutual of Omaha and Basic American Foods. The premium corporate destination features a three-story underground garage, first-class tenant amenities, high-end finishes and dramatic views of Mt. Diablo.

“Walnut Creek is a fundamentally strong urban infill market, which has seen significant tenant migration from Oakland and San Francisco over the past two years, adding to its well-established tenant base,” Golubchik tells GlobeSt.com. “California Plaza represents an incredible investment opportunity with upside potential as vacancy is now approaching the single digits.”