Snyder Operon Buys Industry Parcel; BRE Grabs Laguna Niguel Apartments
REAL ESTATE
by Daniel D. Williams
Dipping prices have put real estate investor and developer Turner Development Corp. in the buying mode, according to Rusty Turner, the Newport Beach company’s president.
“Last year, you couldn’t find anything,” Turner said. “But now sellers are realizing prices must be dropped to have the property move. We’ve seen some sellers cracking and think that will continue.”
Among Turner’s recent deals is the $3.5 million buy of a 58,000-square-foot industrial building in the Irvine Business Complex. The building, at 1822 Reynolds Ave., was bought from Japan’s Fujita Corp. It’s fully occupied by Newport Adhesives and Composites Inc., a unit of Mitsubishi Rayon Co. that makes carbon fiber and Kevlar.
According to Turner, Newport Adhesives has a short-term lease and Fujita didn’t want to take the chance of ending up with an empty building.
“We bought it and took the risk of the tenant renewing,” Turner said.
John Griffin of Voit Commercial Brokerage represented Turner. John Pagliassotti of Voit represented Fujita.
In another deal, Turner bought a 43,868-square-foot vacant industrial building in Santa Fe Springs for $3.25 million. Owner Herman Weiner had wanted to sell the building to Santa Fe Springs-based New Century Cos. But that never came about. So Turner bought the property instead and signed New Century, a reconditioner of heavy machinery, to a five-year lease.
Stephen Batcheller and Patrick Welch of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc. represented the seller. Clifton Fincher, Charles Noble and David Hunsaker of Lee & Associates, represented Turner.
Turner also bought a 100%-occupied, 31,500-square-foot Fullerton building being used as a FedEx Corp. call center. In this case, Turner said his company found a seller wanting to handoff the property before the tenant’s lease came due. The deal will close Jan. 28.
Currently, FedEx is paying under market rents, Turner said. The company took on the property with the idea of renewing the lease with FedEx at market rates, or improving and selling the building, he said.
Richard Gold sold the property at 1430 E. Orangethorpe Ave. Louis Tomaselli and Mitch Zehner of Voit Commercial Brokerage represented both buyer and seller.
Turner has specialized in industrial and low-rise office projects. The company has completed 31 projects spanning more than 3 million square feet of industrial and commercial space, including:
n Turner/Lake Forest,10 industrial buildings within Pacific Commerce Center, representing 278,111 square feet.
n Turner/Hancock Business Park, Anaheim,19 freestanding industrial buildings totaling 185,594 square feet.
n Turner/Brea Business Park,a three building industrial park totaling 128,755 square feet.
The company’s crown jewel is the 77 acres it bought on the A.J. West Ranch in Lake Forest. Turner received entitlement on the land and subdivided the site into fourteen finished lots, developing and selling off most of the parcels.
“We’ve maintained a 12-acre site for further development,” Turner said.
Snyder Operon Buys Land
Some development projects remain in play. Such is the case with a massive industrial park being planned in city of Industry.
Snyder Langston Operon Group paid an undisclosed amount for 28.3 acres at 700 Fairway Drive, with plans for a 370,000-square-foot industrial park. The new park is set to be named Imperial Business Park. Plans call for seven industrial buildings. Previous owner Mansfield Plumbing demolished all buildings on the site and moved out in 2000.
Snyder Langston Operon Group is an investment partnership between Irvine-based Snyder Langston and Newport Beach-based Operon Group. The project stands to bring Snyder Operon’s portfolio of developed property to more than 10 million square feet in Southern California during the two companies’ 25-year relationship.
CB Richard Ellis and Colliers Seeley Co. will market the project. Darla Longo of CB’s Glendale office and Barbara Emmons of CB’s Riverside office represented both parties in the deal.
RESIDENTIAL
San Francisco-based BRE Properties Inc. continued its move into Orange County with a recent acquisition. The real estate investment trust paid the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio $64 million for Ventanja at Rancho Niguel, a 460-unit complex in Laguna Niguel.
Built in 1988, Ventanja includes 28 two-story buildings on 25.5 acres. The property houses 224 one- and 236 two-bedroom garden apartments.
The acquisition of Ventanja brings BRE’s Southern California portfolio to 24 communities totaling 6,359 units. The company also has five communities in various stages of development in San Clemente, Fullerton, Santa Ana and Chula Vista, totaling 1,061 units.
Dennis Danielian and Jesse Goldstein of TCI Properties, Redwood Shores office and Mark Peterson, vice president, acquisitions and dispositions in BRE’s OC office, represented BRE in the deal.
