Sagamore Equities Closes on Great American Plaza

Sagamore Equities LLC closed on the acquisition of Great American Plaza a 228,000-sf office/R&D complex in the heart of Silicon Valley. The three-building complex was acquired from Dallas-based Archon Group for around $48 million.

Thomas R. Owens, CEO of Sagamore Realty Group, tols GlobeSt.com that planting a flag in Silicon Valley is very important to his firm and its equity partners. “We believe in the Silicon Valley market,” Owens said. “It is strong, we believe it will continue to be strong and that the properties will provide good cash flow.”

By Silicon Valley standards, Sagamore acquired the complex for a good price: $217 a square foot, according to Owens.

The property is composed of three, two-story buildings at 5200 Great America Parkway and 2903/2933 Bunker Hill Lane, on the corner directly across from the Santa Clara Convention Center, TechMart and the Westin Hotel. The buildings are currently 100% leased. Approximately 500 people work in the complex.

The ongoing asset management of Great American Plaza will be handled by David Skyhawk, a Sagamore principal who heads the firm’s acquisition team in Northern California and helped work the Great American deal.

Debt financing was provided by the San Francisco office of GE Capital Corporation, and debt finance brokerage by the San Francisco office of Cohen Financial Inc. Commercial real estate brokerage services were provided by the San Jose office of Colliers Investment Services Group.

Property management for Great American Plaza will be handled by Sagamore Equities affiliate George Elkins Property Management Company (GEPMC). Kevin S. Green, president of GEPMC, also is president of Sagamore Realty Group.

Sagamore Equities focuses on investment opportunities in the Western U.S. The company was formed in January 1998 by a “major Midwestern corporation” as its real estate acquisitions unit for the region. The present principals of Sagamore Equities acquired the corporation’s interest in the operation late last year and made it the equity arm of Sagamore Realty Group LLC, a holding company that was simultaneously established.

Major acquisitions completed by Sagamore Equities during the past year is Westlake Village I, a prestigious 117,000-sf office building in the upscale northwest suburbs of Los Angeles that Sagamore Equities purchased for approximately $18 million. Telecom giant GTE occupies nearly 60% of the space, which GEPMC also manages.