COMMERCIAL
Portland’s Guardian Management LLC has hired a local to head up the recently acquired offices of Irvine-based brokerage Sperry Van Ness.
Bob Osbrink, formerly an executive at Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Co., was named president of Sperry Van Ness’ Southern California, Arizona and Oregon offices, as well as a principal in the brokerage operations of Guard-ian.
In July, Guardian, a real estate investment and management company, became the largest franchise owner of Sperry Van Ness brokerages when it said it was buying eight offices, including Sperry Van Ness’ Irvine headquarters.
The deal closed at the end of August. About 190 brokers (including about 60 in Irvine) are in the eight offices, primarily in Southern California. Sperry Van Ness counts about 1,000 brokers and 150 offices in total.
Osbrink’s immediate goals are “stabilizing” the affected offices as they move to a franchisee model during the slow market.
Brokers shouldn’t see too much of a difference in operations, Osbrink said.
Sperry Van Ness “already has such a strong brand, especially in the local market,” he said.
Osbrink most recently was the president of the transaction services group for Grubb & Ellis, and effectively ran the company’s brokerage operations out of Newport Beach when Grubb & Ellis was based in Chicago.
That was before its 2007 acquisition by Santa Ana-based real estate investor NNN Realty Advisors Inc., which kept the Grubb name.
Osbrink also was co-chief executive of Grubb from 2004 to 2006.
Prior to the Sperry Van Ness deal, Guardian’s forte had been apartment investments, which still are seeing activity these days, Osbrink said.
As for commercial real estate, “we’re starting to see some light,” Osbrink said.
“I don’t think we’re in a three-year slump, but I don’t think we’re in a three-month slump either,” he said.
KBS Buys Loan
Newport Beach’s KBS Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. said it is buying a $500 million senior mezzanine loan, which was used to fund a portion of New York-based Gramercy Capital Corp.’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Jenkintown, Pa.-based American Financial Realty Trust in April.
The purchase price of the loan, which was used to fill in gaps in funding for the acquisition, was $496 million plus closing costs, according to a Securities and Exchange filing.
The deal was made in late August. Earlier this month, Gramercy said it was looking to auction off more than 70 properties, primarily bank branches, it bought in the American Financial deal.
Laing Work Completed
The Irvine office of San Diego’s Roel Construction Co. said it has finished a tenant improvement project for John Laing Homes’ new headquarters in Irvine, at the Impac Center building on Jamboree Road.
The 62,329-square-foot project for the homebuilder, valued at $4 million, was for three and a half stories of the five-story office building.
The project includes an interconnecting three-story glass rail stairwell.
Money Man
Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners has hired Dominic Petrucci as its chief financial officer. He’ll be responsible for corporate finance, investment accounting and reporting, technology, risk management and regulatory compliance.
Petrucci most recently was the chief operating officer for Irvine’s Cornerstone Real Estate Funds.
RESIDENTIAL
Lake Forest’s Advanced Real Estate Services Inc. has bought the 88-unit Westminster Arms Apartments in Garden Grove.
The price was about $12 million, or $136,000 per apartment. The complex includes 56 two-bedroom units, 16 three-bedroom units and 16 one-bedroom units. Rents go as high as $1,600 per month.
The new owner plans to renovate the complex, which will be completed by Advanced Real Estate’s construction division, R3
Construction Services.
Doug Rodermund and Grant Hahn from Newport Beach-based Morgan-Skenderian Investment Real Estate Group represented the seller, West Arms LP of Northern California.
Advanced Real Estate now owns about 5,500 apartments in OC. The company’s also a developer,in May, I wrote a cover story on its plans for a 150-acre project in San Juan Capistrano, where the company is planning 245 homes, boutiques, offices and a horse park.
Company officials are hoping to have an environmental study for the project, which overlooks the freeway near the San Juan Hills golf club, approved by the end of the year. Construction could begin in 2009 if the market shows signs of a turnaround.
