Downtown San Diego’s largest landlord is selling two more high-rise offices in the central business district of America’s Finest City as it plans significant investments in suburban areas of the city.
Newport Beach-based Irvine Company recently confirmed with the Business Journals that it placed 100 W. Broadway and 225 Broadway office towers on the market.
The listings, both located in the heart of downtown San Diego, went online a few weeks after Irvine Co. sold the Symphony Towers to Joe Wen, the Orange County-based founder and chief executive officer of Formosa Ltd. Symphony Towers is one of the tallest commercial buildings in San Diego.
New York City-based Eastdil Secured is the broker for both buildings on Broadway.
“These are two of Downtown San Diego’s most iconic office towers along Broadway, and we anticipate significant interest in this opportunity to acquire these signature Class A buildings,” Eastdil Secured Managing Director Adam Edwards said in a statement shared with the Business Journal.
Irvine Co. plans to shift its investments in the county to suburban University City, a development about 13 miles north of downtown San Diego and near the University of California, San Diego. A recently adopted development plan for the University City could add nearly 30,000 housing units and 72,000 jobs to the area.
Irvine Co. already has a sizeable office and rental presence in the vicinity of the University City
Two Iconic High-Rises
The 20-floor, 452,436-square-foot high-rise at 101 W. Broadway was built in 1984, while the 22-floor, 363,102-square-foot 225 Broadway was completed in 1974. Both buildings were renovated in 1993 and 2001, respectively.
Irvine Co. bought both buildings for $265 million, or nearly $325 per square foot, in July 2005, according to CoStar. Tenants at 101 W. Broadway include Morgan Stanley and the U.S. Probation Office, according to CoStar data. 225 Broadway, meanwhile, is home to Federal Defenders of San Diego, among others, also per CoStar data.
JLL, in its most recent office market report for San Diego, showed office building sales in the city ticked upward in this year’s third quarter. Overall investments in San Diego office buildings, however, were subdued, per JLL, with sales volume at $436 million, or $186 per square foot, between the fourth quarter of 2023 and third quarter of 2024.
Irvine Co. sold Symphony Towers in September for about $84 per square foot, almost one-third of the $246 per square foot it paid to buy the office campus.
Irvine Co.’s Focus on Office
Irvine Co.’s portfolio includes 54 million square feet of office space in California, Chicago and New York City. The locally-based landlord closed its 2024 fiscal year with more than 90% of its office space leased.
Irvine Co., the largest owner of office space in Orange County and the state of California, also committed $560 million of capital across its portfolio in its 2024 fiscal year, including $200 million spent to buy out minority stakeholders and take over 100% control of the MetLife Building at 200 Park Ave. in New York City.
The Irvine Co. portfolio, overall, includes nearly 600 office buildings, 125 multifamily developments, 40 retail centers, five marinas and three golf courses.
Some of its office properties include Sand Canyon Business Center in Irvine, Newport Gateway in Newport Beach and Santa Clara Gateway in Santa Clara.
