Wells Fargo & Co. has sold two offices it owned in the Irvine Spectrum for about $60 million combined, the latest sign of local retrenchment for Orange County’s second-largest commercial bank by employee count and local deposits.
Both offices were previously used by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo for its auto financing operations. The offices had seen job cuts of late and the bank indicated about a year ago it would be closing those locations and relocating its remaining employees to other spots in OC and elsewhere.
The bank and its affiliated businesses employ about 3,400 people in Orange County, according to Business Journal data. That figure is down around 30% from 2016.
Filings with the state indicate Wells Fargo made about 265 job cuts in Irvine over the course of the last year, including positions at the two Spectrum offices located at 23 Pasteur and 15750 Alton Parkway.
The two buildings—a few blocks apart, near the intersection of the Laguna (133) and San Diego (405) freeways—had been occupied by Wells Fargo after its acquisition of Wachovia about 11 years ago, real estate brokerage records indicate.
“Wells Fargo Auto has been transforming to meet the changing needs of dealers, customers and the marketplace,” the bank said in a statement when job cuts to the Spectrum offices were announced last year.
Taylor Ties
Property records indicate that both Spectrum offices, totaling about 220,000 square feet, were snapped up by separate real estate investors.
The buyers include a limited liability company tied to one of OC’s wealthiest individuals, C. Frederick Taylor, co-founder and partner of Irvine’s TGS Management LLC, an under-the-radar quant hedge fund, records indicate.
Pasteur Properties LLC, a commercial real estate investment entity set up earlier this year and based out of TGS’ headquarters, bought the larger of the two buildings, a 120,000-square-foot office at 23 Pasteur. It sold for about $28 million, or $233 per square foot.
Taylor, whose name is on the deed of the office, shouldn’t have trouble paying for it.
Estimates of Taylor’s wealth range from $1.2 billion to multiple billions; he’s the “T” in TGS. The firm’s other founding members were David Gelbaum and Andrew Shechtel.
The trio gained national attention about five years ago. A Bloomberg news report at the time said that the hedge fund managers had “secretly directed one of the largest pools of philanthropic capital for years,” one it estimated at more than $13 billion.
That figure has yet to be confirmed or commented on by the trio’s representatives or their hedge fund.
“Over the years, our people have made substantial contributions to a variety of important causes, from medical research and human rights to education, environmental conservation, poverty, mobility, and more,” the TGS website said.
TGS Management uses computer algorithms to invest via a so-called “quant” strategy similar in respects to that of Newport Beach’s Ed Thorp, a prominent local hedge fund investor who has worked with TGS’ founders in the past.
The firm appears to still be in growth mode. It’s looking to hire more than a dozen local workers, primarily in engineering and research roles, its website indicated.
TGS aims to bring scientists and engineers “together to tackle financial markets using complex models, custom technology, and huge amounts of computational horsepower,” it said.
IRA Account
Also sold by Wells Fargo last month: a 101,000-square-foot office at 15750 Alton Parkway.
It traded hands for $32 million, or about $317 per square foot. It’s the highest-priced office sale in the Spectrum area so far this year, according to CoStar Group Inc. records. The 23 Pasteur sale is the second-highest area deal by price.
IRA Capital LLC, an Irvine-based real estate investment firm with headquarters near John Wayne Airport, bought the three-story building on Alton.
It’s the company’s only office investment in Orange County, although it also has retail investments in the area, according to its website.
The buyer’s website indicated it owns close to 4 million square feet of commercial space, including office, medical office, retail, industrial, and student housing, among others. It buys property on its own account and for its co-investment partners, which include family offices, opportunity funds, and institutions.
The office was built in 1999, and is on 1.5 acres, records indicate.
Leasing or occupancy plans for either of the two just-sold buildings have not been disclosed.
