Trio of Acquisitions Puts CIP Portfolio at 2M Square Feet
Garden Grove Taking Bids on Vacant Lot for Homes, Shops; Big Year for Moran & Co.’s King
REAL ESTATE
by Daniel D. Williams
COMMERCIAL
Irvine-based real estate investor CIP Real Estate has expanded its portfolio.
Three recent acquisitions added 310,000 square feet of commercial property to the company’s holdings. CIP spent $40 million on the buys, which are of a plan to diversify geographically and by property types.
One of the deals was in Orange County: Centerpointe Plaza, a 38,000-square-foot building at 19762 MacArthur Blvd. in Irvine. The others were Empire Towers I, a 178,000-square-foot, class A office building in Ontario, and Northridge Promenade, a 92,000-square-foot commercial and retail center in the Northridge.
The acquisitions bring CIP’s portfolio to more than 2 million square feet of property valued at $130 million.
Since July, the company also has sold four industrial parks totaling more than 550,000 square feet and valued at more than $42 million.
“Over the years, we’ve developed a successful business model for acquiring underperforming assets that are in need of renovation and repositioning,” said Chuck McKenna, a CIP principal. “Our goal is to immediately improve on the appearance and leaseability of a new acquisition in order to attract new tenants and increase overall value.”
Retail, Homes Planned
The city of Garden Grove recently bought a vacant lot totaling 304,920 square feet from a private, offshore investor.
The city paid $5.6 million for the land at 12791 Brookhurst Ave. with plans to have developers bid on a project to create a retail and residential project on the land.
An official said the city has received about 10 bids on the land so far, with Seal Beach-based The Olson Co. among the bidders.
Olson has developed similar urban infill projects in OC, including building lofts and townhomes in Fullerton’s Amerige Heights.
Plans for the Garden Grove land fit past Olson projects.
The nearly 14-acre parcel once was a car dealership, according to Jim Hawkins, a broker with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Co.
“There also is some adjoining land that will be annexed,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins and Bob Engen of Lee & Associates’ Orange office represented Garden Grove. Shumei Kam of the Garden Grove office of Coldwell Bankers represented the seller.
Terrorism Coverage Welcomed
Building owners received a boost recently with the passage of the Terrorism Risk Assurance Act of 2002.
Since the terrorist attacks more than a year ago, insurers have excluded such incidents and acts of war from insurance policies, meaning policyholders no longer could insure properties against damage caused by them.
The policy put building owners in a bind, with the lack of insurance making it more difficult to insure, lease, build or sell properties.
Under the new law, which will be in place for three years, federal funds of up to $100 billion will be made available to cover losses from a terrorist attack. The federal government’s share would be 90% of losses above the deductible. Insurance company deductibles would be set at 7% of premiums the first year, 10% the second year, and 15% the third year.
The new law also consolidates civil lawsuits stemming from a terrorist attack in a single federal court for trial under the laws of the state in which the attack took place. This provision is intended to prevent property owners from facing multiple claims in multiple jurisdictions from the same terrorist attack.
RESIDENTIAL
2002 has been a good year for Mary Ann King, managing partner of the Costa Mesa office of Chicago-based Moran & Co.
Earlier this year, King brokered the largest apartment community deal in Los Angeles County history, the $117.2 million sale of Marina Pointe in Marina del Rey.
Now King has been named president of Moran & Co., according to company founder and senior partner Thomas Moran.
“Her appointment better positions our firm to accomplish several long-term objectives, including national expansion and increased market share,” he said.
King will continue to head the Costa Mesa office but will oversee activity in regional offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Boca Raton, Fla., and Highlands Ranch, Colo.
King joined Moran in 1983 and started the West Coast office in 1989. Since 1995, she has overseen the sales and marketing of 52 properties totaling 16,380 units. This figure accounts for 50% of Moran’s $3.6 billion in sales during that time.
Moran’s projected sales volume for 2002 should top $700 million, according to King.
“Moran & Co. is typically focused on the larger, institutional-quality deals,” King said. “Our average sale is between $30 million and $35 million.”
King has a bachelor’s in urban studies from Middlebury College, a master’s in city and regional planning from Harvard University and a master’s of management from Northwestern University. In 2005, she will assume the post of chairwoman of the National Multi Housing Council board of directors.
