Griffin Towers. Picture courtesy of Barker Pacific Group
Barker Pacific Group (BPG) and Kingsbarn Realty Capital have paid $82 million for Griffin Towers, a two-building workplace campus in Santa Ana, Calif., totaling 560,000 sq. toes. In keeping with CommercialEdge knowledge, the vendor was EQ Workplace, a subsidiary of Blackstone. Newmark represented the vendor and procured acquisition financing from Western Alliance Financial institution, public data present.
The deal’s price ticket is 36.4 % decrease than the one of many earlier acquisition. CommercialEdge reveals that EQ Workplace bought the asset for $129 million in 2014.
Griffin Towers marks the second partnership between Kingsbarn and BPG within the Orange County workplace market. In 2021, the 2 companies acquired Fullerton Towers, following an identical value-add technique.
A lately renovated Orange County workplace campus
Accomplished in 1987 as Orange County’s first Wired-certified undertaking, the dual 13-story workplace buildings have been lately renovated. A health heart, convention heart and outside bocce court docket with seating areas, in addition to a six-story parking construction with 4 EV charging stations are among the many facilities on the property.
UKG, Michael Baker Worldwide, Psomas, Nation’s Direct Mortgage, HNTB and the Ayn Rand Institute are among the many buildings’ present tenants. A CBRE staff, comprising Senior Vice Presidents Dean Chandler and Justin Hill, in addition to First Vice Presidents Peter Wells and Taylor Buddy, deal with leasing on the campus, whereas BPG is accountable for the on-site property administration duties.
Situated at 5 and 6 Hutton Centre Drive, the campus supplies connectivity to freeways 55 and 405, with John Wayne Airport and the College of California Irvine some 3 miles away. Retail facilities, akin to South Coast Plaza, Style Island and Irvine Market, are additionally close by.
Newmark Co-Head Kevin Shannon, Govt Managing Director Paul Jones and Director Brandon White represented EQ Workplace within the transaction, whereas Vice Chairman David Milestone and Affiliate Director Henry Cassiday assisted the patrons in securing the acquisition mortgage.
A better take a look at the Santa Ana workplace market
In keeping with a current Newmark report, Santa Ana had workplace stock of round 5.5 million sq. toes on the finish of this yr’s first quarter. The submarket’s emptiness fee stood at 22.8 %, 510 foundation factors larger than the one recorded in Orange County.
Though there was a brief improve in emptiness charges through the first quarter of this yr, the present common in Orange County continues to be decrease than the height of 20.8 % that was noticed through the International Monetary Disaster, the identical supply reveals. As corporations are imposing a return-to-office coverage, they’re gaining extra bargaining energy and making selections concerning actual property which are more likely to have long-term implications.
