Birtcher Anderson Generate $74 Mil from Sales of Two OC Office Properties
IRVINE, CALIF. – June 10, 2005 – Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC collected $74 mil from the recent sales of two Class A office properties in Orange County. Birtcher, a Laguna Niguel-based commercial real estate investment entity formed within the Birtcher Real Estate Group of companies, generated impressive short-term returns for the company’s investment partners and its owners with these deals.
In one of the transactions, Birtcher collected $57 mil from the sale of 555 Anton Blvd, a landmark granite and glass 12-story, 234.6k sf ($243/sf) office tower situated adjacent to the 405 Fwy in the South Coast Metro area of Costa Mesa. The buyer was a joint venture between McCarthy Cook & Co and Stockbridge Capital, which owns the two adjacent office buildings and amenity buildings, comprising the Metro Center at South Coast. Rick Putnam and Jeffrey Cole, Senior Vice Presidents/Principals of Trammell Crow Company represented both sides in the transaction. Birtcher Anderson Realty had purchased the property 14 months ago for $41.3 mil.
The other sale was for Canyon Corporate Center, a four-story, 117.5k sf office building located at 5601 E. La Palma in Anaheim, which traded for $17.41 mil ($148/sf). The buyer was Wescom Credit Union, which will occupy the property as a regional processing facility. At the time of sale, the property was 100 percent occupied by First American Financial, who will be vacating the property in November to move into a new building on its corporate campus in Santa Ana. Rick Warner, Mark Friend and Steve Batcheller of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Birtcher Anderson Realty purchased this property 19 months ago for just $10.6 mil.
Birtcher plans to employ some of the proceeds from these two sales to help fund the acquisition of at least $100 mil in property over the next 12 months, focusing on Southern California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.
During the past 12 months, Birtcher Anderson Realty has been particularly active in the Orange County market with more than $100 mil in acquisitions. Some of these recent purchases include:
• Laguna Hills Square, a four-building medical office center located at 24401, 24411, 24421 and 24431 Calle de la Louisa in Laguna Hills, near the Laguna Hills Mall and Leisure World. The office center totals 51.7k sf and was purchased for $14.1 mil. The 2.5-acre property was built in 1982 and is 100 percent leased to both medical tenants including Saddleback Medical Center, Harvard Eye Associates, and office tenants such as Wachovia Securities.
• Fullerton Towers, located at 1440 North Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton. This property consists of a nine-story tower and a seven-story tower, as well as a separate parcel of land, which is ground-leased to Farmer Boys Restaurant for the planned construction of a restaurant. The property totals 223.6k sf and was built in 1983. The property was purchased for $36.7 mil.
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