Los Angeles County’s top office investment deals of April totaled $182 million, led by the second-highest sale in Beverly Hills so far this year. Last month also saw pricey trades in Downtown L.A., Torrance and Diamond Bar, a city on the easternmost edge of the county.
The list doesn’t include what may have been the priciest sale of the month — Ratkovich Co.’s sale of its stake in the sprawling Bloc mixed-use complex to its equity partner National Real Estate Advisors. The sale price is so far unknown. But Ratkovich paid $131 million in 2013 for its minority stake before it undertook a major renovation. Given that, it’s more than likely the sale eclipsed all five on this month’s list.
Numbers were compiled from property records by Real Capital Analytics and PropertyShark.
1. 9171 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills — Cruzan and Cigna | $69.25 million
Dennis Cruzan’s eponymous San Diego-based equity firm made its first foray into L.A. County real estate with its purchase of the 112,000-square-foot office in Beverly Hills. Cruzan partnered with insurer CIGNA on the buy with $51.5 million in financing from Mesa West Capital. The seller was John Hancock Life Insurance Company. The city of Beverly Hills saw its most expensive sale of the year in January when CIM Group purchased the Union Bank of California building up the street for $132 million.
2. 800 S. Figueroa Street L.A. — 800 Figueroa LLC | $35.2 million
This 10-story Downtown office property changed hands on the last day of April between two limited liability companies. The sale is the first transfer of the property since 2004, when Shuwa Investment Corporation sold it for $10 million to 800 Figueroa Corp. The property is 131,800 square feet, which means the sale comes out to around $267 per square foot. The buyer appears to be linked to El Segundo-based SSV Properties via Chief Financial Officer Fred Skaggs.
3. 1440 Bridgegate Drive, Diamond Bar — Niagara Bottling | $30.95 million
A Delaware-based LLC connected to the water bottling company paid around $76 per square foot for this two-building suburban office property in Diamond Bar. The seller was another LLC connected to an individual named Sean S. Cao. It was a quick flip for Cao, who purchased the property in July of 2017 for $27.3 million. Niagara was founded in Irvine, but is now headquartered in San Bernardino County.
4. 520 N. Central Avenue, Glendale — Octane Realty & Development | $27.5 million
This eight-story office building in Glendale has changed hands three times since 2007 and not always for a profit. This time it did. Pasadena-based Octane Realty & Development bought the nearly 98,000-square-foot office tower from a joint venture of Lincoln Property Company and Long Wharf Real Estate Partners. The joint venture turned it around quickly after purchasing in February for $19.6 million from Prudential Real Estate Investors. Prudential had paid $24.5 million for it in December 2007, just before the recession hit.
5. 20285 Western Avenue, Torrance — Miramar Capital | $19.1 million
The Santa Monica firm Miramar Capital picked up this three-story office building in its first buy of the year. Former Colony NorthStar employees started the firm last year. It has picked up a handful of properties since, including one other Torrance office property, another in Redondo Beach, and others around San Jose. El Segundo-based Mar Ventures was the previous owner of the 77,200-square-foot property built in 2000. The sale comes out to around $247 per square foot.