KBS looks set for haircut with $165M sale of Union Bank Plaza

40-story office tower in DTLA previously listed for $250M

KBS Real Estate CEO Charles J. Schreiber Jr. (KBS)
KBS Real Estate CEO Charles J. Schreiber Jr. (KBS)

KBS Real Estate is in contract to sell the Union Bank Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles for $165 million, The Real Deal has learned. If the transaction closes, it would be one of the largest office deals in the city this year.

The firm signed a purchase and sale agreement for the 40-story tower on May 18, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The buyer is an entity called Harbor Associates, LLC. KBS expects the deal to close on July 11, the filing shows.

The property, located at 445 South Figueroa Street on Bunker Hill, was put on the market in August with an asking price of $250 million. The office tower is currently undergoing a $20 million renovation. Planned upgrades for the property include a two-story retail level and an outdoor seating area with fire pits, according to a previous press release.

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MUFG Union Bank is one of the building’s main tenants. The firm, which occupies around 30 percent of the property, recently signed a 15-year lease extension.

This is not the first time that KBS has found a buyer for the asset. In 2017, RC Acquisitions agreed to buy the 701,888-square-foot tower for $280 million but later backed out of the deal. If the acquisition doesn’t close, Harbor Associates may have to pay $4 million in penalties.

The transaction is one of a handful of office deals to break the $100 million mark this month in the Los Angeles market, most recently with Harrison Street acquiring two Westside medical office properties for $156 million. In the first quarter, no sale reached the $100 million threshold. The largest transaction for that period was Georgetown Company’s $93 million acquisition of 1350 North Western Avenue, according to Avison Young’s latest Los Angeles office report.