Kaplan Educational Centers has signed a nine-year, $2.2 million lease for a 15,110-square-foot space in the Jamboree Promenade shopping center, ending an 18-month search for more space.
Michael Fiorina, president and COO of Los Angeles-based property management company The Total Companies, represented the landlord, Jamboree Promenade LP, in the deal. The Total Companies is also the managing general partner of the property. The Newport Beach and Los Angeles offices of Lee & Associates acted for Kaplan.
The test-preparation company is relocating from its 6,200-square-foot Costa Mesa location to the Promenade center in order to expand and to be near UC Irvine, said Howard Benson, the firm’s Western regional director. Kaplan offers courses to prepare students for tests such as PSAT, SAT, ACT, GRE and GMAT, so UCI students are Kaplan’s main clientele.
Benson said Kaplan’s subsidiary, Dearborn Financial, which offers career development for insurance, securities and real estate professionals, also will be sharing the new space at the center, at the corner of Jamboree and Dupont Drive. The cost of the transition will be more than $1 million, Benson said.
The addition of Kaplan increases night-time foot traffic, Fiorina said, boosting the value of the other space in the retail center, which is anchored by the Daily Grill. The current asking rate varies from $1.75 to $2.75 per square foot per month, depending on the location within the center, he said.
A handful of restaurants formerly located at the Plaza de Cafes food court at Birch Street and Von Karman in Irvine also are negotiating to move into the center, according to James Kim, proprietor of New Tokyo. The food court’s building has been leveled to make way for a hotel.
Kim said he intends to move into the space but wanted to make sure Kaplan was moving there first. He said Kaplan’s students will enhance his dinner business. n
