The Irvine-based firm paid $24.2 million for the 54,000-square-foot retail and office complex along Irvine Boulevard, a few blocks south of Bristol Street, in 2019.
The deal marked the first area acquisition since Space Investment launched in 2018.
The firm, led by Ryan Gallagher and Mark Moshayedi, recently started construction work at Back Bay Center, to be rebranded as The Ranch at Newport Bay.
“While the center has served the local community well over the years, we knew that there was more potential to increase the customer experience and enhance the tenant base,” Gallagher said.
New Tenant Lineup
The center, near the Newport Beach Golf Club and the Back Bay trail, was built in 1980 and includes anchor tenant Irvine Ranch Market, which has been at the center for almost 40 years. The market inked a deal in 2019 to stay in its space for another decade.
The redesign will add 2,500 square feet to the specialty grocer’s location, bringing its footprint to 17,500 square feet.
The center will be redesigned as “a modern farmhouse with a splash of beach chic,” the company said.
The renovation will add open-air seating and bring in new retail tenants, such as local coffee shop Coffee Dose, which is relocating from elsewhere in Costa Mesa to the center in late summer.
Construction is expected to wrap by November.
“Our redesign has a huge patio area for customers to meet and enjoy the new and exciting line up of tenants,” said Gallagher. “Overall, our design adds to the vibrancy of the center and local community which is so critical to retail success today.”
The company said leasing opportunities are available for retail, medical and office users.
Future Opportunities
Prior to launching Space Investment Partners, Gallagher was a senior managing director and co-head of the Orange County office of commercial brokerage HFF, which was purchased in 2019 by JLL.
Moshayedi, a co-founder of Santa Ana-based Stec Inc.—now part of Western Digital Corp.—has built a large real estate portfolio since selling the storage device maker in 2013, and with family members has invested heavily in the Mariners Mile area of Newport Beach, just a few miles from Back Bay Center.
Several of Moshayedi’s real estate assets, initially bought under the MSM Global Ventures name, are now operated by Space Investment, which is based in a building he owns near John Wayne Airport.
Space is targeting additional acquisition opportunities, specifically for value-add retail, industrial and multifamily from $15 million to $200 million.
