Starpointe Ventures has bought out Koll Development Co.’s stake in a planned 250,000-square-foot office and retail project at the 28-acre former Koll Center South office campus in Irvine.
Irvine-based Starpointe also is in talks with land seller Prudential Insurance Co. of America to acquire another 11.5 acres at the site. In a separate deal, the remaining 10-acre portion of the 28-acre parcel at the corner of Jamboree Road and Campus Drive is being acquired by Irvine-based Sares-Regis Group, which plans to develop a 540-unit multifamily project.
Starpointe and Koll were planning to jointly develop the first 6.5-acre phase of the project, formerly known as Koll Center South but since renamed Campus Center. It will be two office towers, of six and four stories, and 7,000 square feet of retail space.
Tim Strader Sr., president and chief executive of Starpointe, declined to disclose how much he paid Koll to acquire controlling interest in the project, which was sold to the partnership by Prudential. Strader and Koll officials declined to reveal how much of a stake Koll had owned.
“Koll Development Co. had other investment opportunities and they provided me with an opportunity to buy them out,” said Strader, who is a longtime friend, former employee and partner of Koll Development Chairman Don Koll. “So I have now made that arrangement. We will be proceeding with the development.”
There was no friction between the two companies, and the deal was a friendly one, Strader said. In fact, Starpointe Ventures and Koll Development will continue to jointly oversee entitlement for the entire 28-acre site.
“I’m a long-time Koll guy and I’m still working on a project at Koll Center Newport with the Koll organization,” he said. “It’s very amicable and a great opportunity for me.”
With major development projects in Irvine, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Dublin, Calif., it was simply a case of Koll not wanting to undertake another major project, said Jerry Yahr, president of Koll Development.
“What we looked at is all the activity that we have going as a company and our allocation of resources,” he said. “We’re very focused right now on (the planned office building at) 1901 Main St. and the activity we have in many of our other markets. We felt as though we could maximize our return by selling our position to Strader and focusing our energy and efforts on 1901 (Main St.) and our other markets.”
