Coretrust to acquire major Pasadena office complex for $260M

Coretrust Capital will buy a Pasadena office complex for about $260 million, with an apparent eye toward repositioning the four-building property.

Los Angeles-based Coretrust will acquired the 640,000-square-foot Corporate Center Pasadena campus from UBS Realty, according to Real Estate Alert, which first reported the sale. UBS had quietly listed the six-acre property through Eastdil Secured in August.

With a 22 percent vacancy rate, Coretrust seems likely to reposition the property, which sits on six acres at 251 South Lake Avenue, according to REA. Its vacancy rate was significantly higher than the rest of the county, which had an average of 14.4 percent during the third quarter of 2017, according to CBRE.

UBS, which has owned Corporate Center Pasadena for 30 years, said buyers could renovate the common areas to create a collaborative campus, and boost rents. Corporate Center Pasadena, which spans a full city block, had 17 suites available to rent under the “Leasing Opportunities” section of its website, some with more than 20,000 square feet.

That’s a strategy Coretrust seems to be deploying elsewhere. The company acquired Citigroup Center in Downtown L.A. for roughly $340 million in 2016. At the time, the building occupancy rate was below the average in Downtown L.A. Coretrust will spend $50 million to upgrade the building.

The company did not immediately return requests for comment on its plans for the Pasadena property. [REA] — Hannah Madans