A Chinese maker of herbal extracts used in supplements and cosmetics has bought one of Costa Mesa’s larger industrial properties.
Jin Rui Group Inc., which has a U.S. office in Pomona, last month closed on the purchase of 1683 Sunflower Ave., a 345,000-square-foot property along the San Diego (405) Freeway next to the South Coast Collection shopping center.
The property traded hands for a reported $37 million, or about $107 per square foot, according to brokerage data.
An investment group headed up by Hartford, Conn.-based Penwood Real Estate Investment Management sold the building a little more than a year after paying about $27 million for it.
Jin Rui Group is expected to occupy up to 50,000 square feet at the property, which is about two-thirds occupied and has vitamin manufacturer Robinson Pharma Inc. as its primary tenant.
The remainder of the empty space at the building will be leased.
Brokers said Jin Rui Group is looking at other area industrial buildings for investments.
Towers Going Up …
Two of the largest skyscrapers in the portfolio of KBS Realty Advisors have added more than $183 million in value over the past three years, according to the Newport Beach-based investor.
A recent investor presentation by the company’s KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II noted the gains for the two properties, Chicago’s 300 North LaSalle tower and Union Bank Plaza in Los Angeles.
KBS bought the towers in 2010, paying $655 million for the 60-story Chicago office and $208 million for the 40-story L.A. tower.
A recent appraisal shows the buildings are worth $776 million and $270 million, respectively.
KBS chalked up the gains to increased occupancy rates and increased investor demand for trophy properties in the two markets.
The valuations for the buildings increased by more than $51 million combined over the past year alone, according to the company.
… And Going Down
Astoria, a two-tower residential project at the Central Park West development in Irvine and near John Wayne Airport, has seen a nearly $40 million decline in value after the project was converted from condos to apartments.
A unit of the Florida-based State Board of Administration, which invests on behalf of several retirement, pension and investment funds in that state, recently purchased Astoria, a 240-unit complex alongside the San Diego (405) Freeway.
Astoria was sold by a venture between Miami-based Lennar Corp. and Canada-based Intergulf Development Group, which opened the 15-story complex in 2009.
Lennar officials said the complex changed hands for about $144 million, or $600,000 per unit.
Astoria was initially designed as for-sale condos, but the owners began converting it to rentals in 2011 in the depressed housing market, where there was little demand for high-rise units.
Monthly rents at Astoria now top $3,000.
A 2009 regulatory filing by Lennar put the value of the project at $184.2 million, with Lennar investing about $25 million in the venture. The project had about $126 million in debt tied to it as of 2009.
It’s unknown if Lennar or its partners reworked the debt tied to the towers or the ownership structure of the venture after that 2009 report.
Lennar officials said last month in a quarterly call with analysts that the Astoria sale resulted in “a net loss of $3.2 million after including the reduction to the non-controlling interest line of $17.6 million.”
Low- and midrise condos built by Lennar at the 40-acre Central Park West development, which has had a burst of construction over the past year, remain for sale.
Central Park West has the potential to hold about 1,400 residences when complete.
Retail Hire
Retail broker Mark Baziak has joined Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as a senior managing director in the brokerage’s Newport Beach office.
Baziak specializes in retail landlord leasing and tenant dispositions, as well as development and sales, according to Newmark Grubb. He’ll focus on properties in Southern California, but also heads several national accounts for prominent landlords, according to the company.
Baziak previously worked as director of retail leasing for Colliers International, where he was named the No. 1 retail broker in Southern California in 2012. Before that, he was a senior vice president at Grubb & Ellis.
