Swift profit: San Fran investment firm unloads NoHo office complex for 45% more than it paid

San Francisco-based Swift renovated the 175K sf complex after buying it 3 years ago

Academy Tower and from left, Rockwood Capital co-founder and managing partner Walter Schmidt, Artisan Realty Partners Mark Laderman and Colin Komae
Academy Tower and from left, Rockwood Capital co-founder Walter Schmidt, Artisan Realty Partners' co-founders Mark Laderman and Colin Komae

Three years ago, Swift Real Estate Partners acquired the Academy Tower office building in North Hollywood for $62 million, then undertook a renovation. It has paid off.

A joint venture of Rockwood Capital and Artisan Realty Partners paid $91.3 million for the 175,000-square-foot complex, The Real Deal has learned.

The price pencils out to about $521 per square foot, a 45 percent increase from the amount San Francisco-based Swift paid.

The office tower at 5200 Lankershim Boulevard in the NoHo Arts District was acquired through an entity called AT Office Owner LLC, property records show.

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The Class A office building spans eight stories, and includes ground-floor retail, post-production studios and a six-story parking structure. At the time of Swift’s purchase, the building was 80 percent leased to a variety of tenants in the film and television industry.

Rockwood and Artisan declined to comment. Swift did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Last year, Swift paid $170 million for a three-building office complex in El Segundo.

North Hollywood has seen an influx of investment in both residential and commercial real estate recently. Earlier this month, Public Storage advanced on a plan to redevelop its storage facility in the neighborhood to nearly quadruple its overall size. A joint venture of Strategic Legacy Investment Group and Sanei Architecture Planning also recently filed plans to build an 84-unit apartment complex in the area. The project will rise on Burbank Boulevard, which is near Lankershim Boulevard.