KBS Realty Advisors remains on the hunt for acquisitions after pulling off one of the larger office sales of the year.
Affiliates of the Newport Beach-based real estate investor—which last week announced the impending $850 million sale of a Chicago skyscraper (see story, page 1)—have targeted Phoenix, Baltimore and Atlanta for its latest round of big-dollar acquisitions. Those deals could top $340 million if they’re all completed.
A nontraded real estate investment trust run by KBS said this month that it entered a purchase and sale agreement to buy Phoenix’ Anchor Centre, a two-building office campus in the city’s Camelback Corridor that totals about 333,000 square feet.
The company said it would pay $85.1 million, or $255 per square foot, for the midrise buildings, which sit on 7.3 acres and are about 79% leased. They’ll bring in nearly $5 million in annual rents.
KBS also recently paid $89 million for the 260,651-square-foot Thames Street Wharf office building on Baltimore’s waterfront. The 4-year-old building sold for about $340 per square foot.
It’s part of the 27-acre Harbor Point mixed-use development and is 86% leased.
KBS has an even larger deal in the works in the Buckhead submarket of Atlanta, according to industry reports. It’s said to be the likely buyer of 3630 Peachtree Blvd., a 34-story, 436,275-square-foot property put on the market earlier this year.
The company is said to be paying $166 million, or about $380 per square foot, for the office, which was built in 2010 across the street from the Phipps Plaza mall. The property also contains the Ritz-Carlton Residences.
That would be the largest office sale and the most paid per square foot for an Atlanta-area building in two years, according to local reports.
The tower was about 80% leased at the time it was listed for sale, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. It was developed by a venture between Indianapolis-based Duke Realty and Pope & Land Enterprises of Atlanta.
SunCal Sequel
Irvine-based SunCal Cos. is taking a second stab at turning a former naval hospital site in the Bay Area into a residential development.
This month, the master developer closed on the purchase of Oak Knoll, a 167-acre property in Oakland that was the site of the Oakland Naval Medical Center until its closure in 1996.
It’s actually a repurchase. SunCal first became involved in the property in 2005, when it and longtime partner Lehman Brothers bought the land for a reported $100.5 million.
Initial plans called for 960 homes, 82,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, and 50 acres of parks and open space.
The financial crisis that led to Lehman Brothers’ 2008 collapse put those plans on hold, along with most of SunCal’s development projects in California, such as the Marblehead Coastal project in San Clemente.
Lehman Brothers’ estate has been selling real estate assets to pay off creditors—Marblehead sold in April to Taylor Morrison Home Corp.—and SunCal recently repurchased the Oak Knoll property on undisclosed terms.
Local reports put the expected price for the land at $76 million this time around.
Terry Ruckle and Steve Reilly of Land Advisors Organization sold the property, which generated 20 offers, according to the land brokerage, whose California operations are based in Irvine.
“This is one of the most significant master-planned community opportunities in the San Francisco Bay area, and it is particularly satisfying to once again be at the helm of Oak Knoll’s development,” Frank Faye, SunCal executive vice president, said in a statement.
A time frame for development of the project hasn’t been disclosed.
Arnel Sale
Imperial Promenade, a 220,000-square-foot shopping center that opened in 2008 in La Habra, is up for sale.
The fully leased property was listed by Irvine-based Hanley Investment Group and is going to market unpriced.
The project, which is anchored by a Target and a Big Lots, had a $45 million valuation when it was built by Costa Mesa-based Arnel Hopkins Retail Group LLC, an affiliate of George Argyros’ Arnel & Affiliates.
It’s at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Idaho Avenue and replaced a Kmart that closed in 2002.
The shopping center is one of three retail properties that Arnel owns in Orange County.
