Lincoln Property acquires massive West LA office complex for less than seller originally paid

Buy low, sell high? Looks like Lincoln Property Company read the memo on that one.

The Dallas-based firm, prolific in the Los Angeles commercial real estate market, just bought a six-building office campus in West L.A. for $135.3 million, The Real Deal has learned. The sellers, Muller Company and Rockwood Capital, sold at a loss. They acquired the 566,000-square-foot Wateridge complex for $136 million in 2007, and proceeded to funnel cash into a renovation completed in 2001, according to CoStar.

Lincoln paid a low $240 a square foot for the property, which is 72 percent occupied. Sources said the discount was partially due to the fact that the property at 5100-5150 Goldleaf Circle and 5038-5045 West Slauson Avenue is slightly set off from the main Westside drag. It sits East of Playa Vista and South of Culver City on the Eastern edge of the unincorporated area known as West L.A.

Lincoln plans to complete light renovations at the property: better signage that will help people locate it, new furniture in the lobby and an upgraded retail center. Lincoln aims to boost occupancy and bring in more dining options, so tenants stay on campus for lunch, said Stephen Lindgren, director of finance at Lincoln.

“We believe our acquisition is well-timed,” Lindgren said.

Major tenants at Wateridge include Kaiser Permanente, the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services and Evolve Media.

Muller and Rockwood did not immediately respond to requests for comment.