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September 24, 2007

Birtcher Anderson, GE Buy Office, Retail Site

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Birtcher Anderson, GE Buy Office, Retail Site

REAL ESTATE: First local buy for Birtcher in nearly three years

Orange City Square, a four-building office and stores complex off the Garden Grove (22) Freeway, has traded hands for an estimated $130 million.

San Juan Capistrano investor and developer Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC bought the complex with General Electric Co.'s GE Asset Management.

Springfield, Mass.-based Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. sold the building. Sources peg the sale at about $335 per square foot.

The buildings are on a 14-acre site that runs along The City Drive South, just south of The Block at Orange. They include three mid-rise office buildings totaling 373,619 square feet. A fourth building counts 12,392 square feet of stores as well as a gym and auto detailing business.

It's the first deal Birtcher Anderson has made with GE Asset Management, a big buyer of real estate.

It's also the first local buy for Birtcher Anderson-led by longtime Orange County real estate veterans Arthur Birtcher and Bob Anderson-in nearly three years. The company has been largely looking to buy in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix in recent years, while selling buildings in Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa and Mission Viejo.

"We've been looking and actively chasing some (local) deals," Chief Executive Anderson said. "But this ended up making sense for us. We see a lot of upside for the property."

Birtcher Anderson expects to own the Orange City Square for some time, he said.

The largest of the three office buildings, at 770 The City Drive, formerly was home to sub prime lender Acoustic Home Loans. The company leased about 67,000 square feet of space at the building before it went out of business in mid-2006.

Much of the former Acoustic space since has been leased by the complex's remaining tenants, including a Walt Disney Co. unit, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Zenith Insurance Co. and J.D. Power and Associates.

Orange City Square is 86% full, Anderson said. Rents are about 30% below market rates, and about of a third of the leases are up in the next three years, he said.

Asking monthly rents at the buildings run about $2.85 per square foot, according to CoStar Group Inc.

A pullback by lenders has slowed down the pace of building sales during the past month.

The Orange City Square buy was largely unaffected and wasn't repriced, Anderson said. Other deals have been repriced due to changing loan terms and market fluctuations.

The company used debt for about 65% of the buy, Anderson said.

Anderson called that "conservatively leveraged," and said it made for an easier transaction.

Birtcher Anderson, like all investors these days, is keeping a close eye on the market. Its strategy now is to hold on to a few buildings it had been looking to sell a few months ago.

"We're not going to sell now; we're going to wait," Anderson said. "There's a definite sorting-out going on."

By Mark Mueller, Orange County Business Journal

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Buyer of East Reno Project Targets Increased Occupancy

The recently sold Magnolia Commerce Center in east Reno was built between 2000 and 2003

Bob Anderson loves properties with lots of tenants - properties such as the Magnolia Commerce Center his company just bought in Reno.

And the upside in the acquisition, he says, begins with increasing the number of companies that call the center home.

Anderson, the chief executive officer for Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC of San Juan Capistrano, said his investment company had been scouting the Reno-area market for five years before it settled on the 129,767-square-foot center at Mill Street and East McCarran.

Birtcher Anderson Realty said last week it paid $19.1 million for the five-building property. It was sold by Reno's DP Partners.

Anderson said the company's strategy for increasing the property's value includes:

• Getting the center, currently 30 percent vacant, leased up with an aggressive marketing effort that includes a new name. Tenants currently include Cricket Nevada, IKON Office Solutions, Omnitron International Inc. and Spherion Staffing.
• Finishing some of the vacant space, which currently is nothing more than a shell, into space that could handle a company that needs to move in quickly. If nothing else, he said, the finished space would help potential tenants envision the possibilities for their own company.
• Using the company's background with multi-tenant properties, tighten management of operating expenses to reduce tenants' costs.

The company has some protection from competitors, he noted, because nearby vacant land has been purchased for open space and watershed protection. Magnolia Commerce Center was built between 2000 and 2003.

Birtcher Anderson's strategy with multi-tenant projects, meanwhile, is straightforward: Unlike office buildings with one big tenant, a multi-user property can lose a tenant or two without threatening the entire project.

"It's a recession-resistant approach to commercial real estate,"Anderson said.

The purchase was put together by Bill Palmer and John Sedar of the Palmer Team in Sacramento, and Anderson said his company hopes to make further acquisitions in northern Nevada.

Along with industrial-flex projects such as Magnolia Commerce Center - Anderson prefers to call them "office service" properties - Birtcher Anderson Realty buys specialty retail centers as well as office projects.

The vacancy rate in airport-area properties is running about 18 percent, but Anderson said his company believes continued strong demand for industrial spaces and a lack of new supply could push vacancies down to 10 percent by the end of the year.

By: Northern Nevada Business Weekly. www.nnbw.biz

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Birtcher Anderson Participates in Two Transactions Totaling $55.7Mln

Magnolia Commerce Center

Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC has teamed up with Pacific Coast Capital Partners to buy Deer Valley Office Park in Phoenix for $36.6 million.

Birtcher, a real estate investment, advisory, and development firm out of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and Pacific of El Segundo, Calif., bought the property from pension advisor International Capital Partners LLC of Phoenix.

The property at 20410 and 20430 North 19th Ave. consists of a pair of two-story, class-A office buildings that rests on 10.6 acres, adjacent to Loop 101 Freeway and Interstate 17. Built in 2001, the office park totals 175,225 square feet and is 97 percent leased to ten tenants that include PSCU Financial Services, Universal Technical Institute, TATA and H&R Block.

Bob Buckley of Grubb & Ellis represented the buyer as well as the seller.

In a separate transaction, Birtcher purchased the Magnolia Commerce Center in Reno, Nev. for $19.1 million dollars. The five-business office and industrial complex, which also includes retail showroom space, totals 129,767 sf. Magnolia, which is 70 percent occupied, sits on 13.8 acres at the intersection of 1150 Financial Blvd. and 5580 Mill St. The transaction, which was brokered by Bill Palmer and John Sedar of the Sacramento, Calif.-based Palmer Team, marks Birtcher's entry into the Reno real estate market.

Both transactions increase Birtcher's overall commercial real estate portfolio to about 4 million sf.

Copyright 2006 Commercial Real Estate Direct. All rights reserved. www.crenews.com

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BIRTCHER ANDERSON: Sales Record With Medical Offices

By Mark Mueller
Orange County Business Journal Staff

Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC, the real estate developer and investor, plans to buy more than it sells in 2007, primarily in Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

That said, "It's still a seller's market," said Chief Executive Bob Anderson, who started the San Juan Capistrano company along with industry veteran Arthur Birtcher.

Proof of that can be seen in Laguna Hills, where Birtcher Anderson and partner BayNorth Equities of Boston just cashed out on a big deal, setting a local sales record.

The two just sold Laguna Hills Square, a four-building medical office center totaling 51,734 square feet. The complex is near Paseo de la Valencia and Medical Center Drive.

Laguna Hills Square sold for $20.7 million. That's $400 per square foot, and about $7 million more than what Birtcher Anderson and BayNorth paid for it just two years ago.

The new owner is Universal Properties LH Five LLC, a Newport Beach-based buyer of medical offices in Orange County and Detroit.

The offices sold at a 5.9% capitalization rate. The per-square-foot sales figure breaks a record for commercial buildings 20,000 square feet or larger in South Orange County, according to broker Mike Randall of the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis Co.

Randall and colleague Ryan Gallagher represented Birtcher Anderson. Brian Garbutt of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. in Newport Beach represented Universal Properties.

A lack of nearby land to build on helped drive the price of Laguna Hills Square. So did lease extensions for key tenants, which include Saddleback Medical Center, Harvard Eye Associates and Wachovia Bank.

Rents have gone from about $2.50 per square foot when Birtcher Anderson bought the offices to around $3.10 per square foot, Anderson said.

BayNorth "called us and asked 'why are we holding it? It's all leased up. Let's harvest it,'" Anderson said. The property management arm of Birtcher Anderson is being retained to run Laguna Hills Square, he said.

Birtcher Anderson made about $100 million in acquisitions last year, but sold more than it bought, Anderson said. Investors, especially those outside the region, have been more bullish on the area than many local players, he said.

This year, the goal for Birtcher Anderson is to buy and develop real estate valued at $200 million or more. Phoenix is becoming a bigger focus, especially on the development side. The company has office, industrial and retail projects planned there.

"Fundamentally, the market (in Phoenix) is even a little stronger than it is here," Anderson said.

by: Orange County Business Journal

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Office Center Gains $7M in 24 Months

By Bob Howard

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA-Birtcher Anderson Realty has sold the 51,734-sf Laguna Hills Square medical office center for nearly $21 million after buying it two years ago for $14.1 million. The $20.72-million sale of the property, which Birtcher upgraded en route to raising rents, sold for one of the highest prices per sf for buildings of its size and type in South Orange County.

The four-building medical office center is located near the major cross streets of Paseo de la Valencia and Medical Center Drive, at 24401, 24411, 24421 and 24431 Calle de la Louisa. According to Mike Randall of the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis, the transaction closed at a 5.9% cap rate and $400 per sf.

Randall and Ryan Gallagher, also of the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis, represented Birtcher Anderson. The buyer was Universal Properties LH Five Realty, which targets medical properties in Orange County and in Detroit, with offices in both of those locations. Universal was represented by Brian Garbutt of Lee & Associates in Newport Beach.

Birtcher Anderson and its partner, BayNorth Equities, garnered the high return on investment as a result of several factors, according to Jeffrey Eales, VP of asset management and leasing for Birtcher Anderson Realty. Eales cites "the overall strength and desirability of the Orange County market" as well as the lack of available property for competitive development near Laguna Hills Square.

Birtcher's aggressive leasing and property improvements also added value to the deal, Eales notes. The capital improvements to the property included an energy-saving lighting retrofit and common area renovations. Additionally, the firm stabilized the rent roll for several years to come by conducting early lease renewals with two of the major tenants. It also expanded existing tenant spaces, extended lease terms and brought rents up to market rates.

by GlobeSt.com

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Tempe office complex sold for $11M

The Tempe Executive Center, an 88,569-square-foot Class B office property at 1208, 1243 and 1270 E. Broadway in Tempe has been sold for $11.05 million.

The new owners are Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC, a San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based commercial real estate investment, advisory and development firm, and joint venture partner Thackeray Partners, an institutional equity fund out of Dallas.

The property was built in 1984 on 6.5 acres and includes three two-story garden office buildings with connecting walkways. The center is 18 percent vacant.

Stan Shafer and Laurel Lewis of Grubb & Ellis in Phoenix represented Birtcher Anderson Realty. The seller, The Walton Family Trust from Phoenix, represented itself.

"The partnership was attracted to Tempe Executive Center because Tempe is a supply-constrained market that continues to experience healthy absorption and because this project's occupancy and rents are significantly lower than the rest of the competitive submarket," said Bob Anderson, chief executive officer at Birtcher Anderson Realty.

Birtcher Arizona operates more than 1.2 million square feet of property in the Valley.

by: The Business Journal

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Birtcher Partnership Spends $11 Mil on Class B Office Property in AZ

A venture of San Juan Capistrano-based Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC and Thackeray Partners, out of Dallas, has acquired Tempe Executive Center, an 88.6k sf Class B office property located at 1208, 1232 and 1270 East Broadway in Tempe. It was sold by The Walton Family Trust for $11.05 mil ($124/sf).

Built in 1984 and situated on 6.5 acres, Tempe Executive Center includes three, two-story garden office buildings with connecting walkways. Parking is well allocated around the site providing short walking distances to the tenant spaces. The center is currently 18 percent vacant, while the Tempe submarket stands at approximately seven percent vacant.

The property is located on one of the main commercial arteries linking Tempe with Mesa and Phoenix and is between the cross streets of Rural and McClintock, which are the main thoroughfares connecting Scottsdale with Tempe. The Superstition and 101 freeways are just one mile away, providing quick access to Sky Harbor International Airport and the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Additionally, Arizona State University, restaurants, hotels and retail are all within close proximity.

Stan Shafer and Laurel Lewis of Grubb & Ellis in Phoenix repped Birtcher Anderson Realty. The seller represented itself in the transaction.

"The partnership was attracted to Tempe Executive Center because Tempe is a supply-constrained market that continues to experience healthy absorption and because this project's occupancy and rents are significantly lower than the rest of the competitive submarket," said Bob Anderson, chief executive officer at Birtcher Anderson Realty. "This submarket is also favored by smaller tenants, which is what this particular property caters to." Anderson added that the property was purchased at basis well below replacement cost.

Birtcher Anderson Realty in conjunction with its local, Phoenix-based affiliate, Birtcher Arizona, has purchased more than 600k sf of office, industrial and retail property over the past nine months and anticipates investing approximately $100 mil in Phoenix-area properties and land for development over the next 12 months. Birtcher Arizona operates more than 1.2 msf of property in the Phoenix region.

by RENTV.com

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Birtcher Anderson Buys Flex/Office Campus

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. - Potrero Business Center, a stabilized 134,444-sf flex/office property here, has changed hands for $17.15 million or about $130 per sf. The new owner, Birtcher Anderson Realty of San Juan Capistrano, is looking capitalize on a rebounding market.

Potrero Business covers 4.55 acres in southeast San Francisco, adjacent to Interstate 280 and one mile east of Highway 101. Built in 1986, the property includes two, single-story buildings and one, two-story building and off-street parking for 167 vehicles.

The campus is 95% leased to 14 tenants. Anchor tenants include Davita Dialysis Clinic, Aramark Inc., Cupertino Electric and Graybar Electric Co. The physical addresses of the buildings are 1740, 1750 and 1760 Cesar Chavez St.

"We targeted this property due to its location in the rapidly improving San Francisco market," says Birtcher Anderson's VP of acquisitions Steve Corea. "This particular sub-market has experienced significant positive absorption and rapidly increasing rental rates driven by the lack of competitive alternatives and the re-emergence of high technology and life sciences industries within the city."

The property also is appealing due to its proximity to the 3rd Street Light Rail line. The line, which is scheduled to open in late 2006, has already impacted the real estate market in the immediate area, Corea says. Also impacting the market is the boom in residential construction that is coming "at the expense of potential commercial development sites," he says.

Over the last four years, approximately three million sf of existing commercial space has been converted to residential use in San Francisco, Corea says. Over the past year--April 1, 2005 to April 1, 2006--the San Francisco office market vacancy rate has declined from approximately 18.5% to 11.5%. The office market should tighten even more as commercial space is converted to residential use, he says.

Potrero Business Center marks the first Northern California acquisition by Birtcher Anderson, a member of the Birtcher Real Estate Family of Cos. that began its direct investment program in 1999. Birtcher Anderson CEO Bob Anderson tells GlobeSt.com the company often uses private equity partners but in the case of Potrero did it in house with equity from principals and employees and high-leverage financing from Wachovia.

Value-add opportunities include converting some of the remaining warehouse space to office space as tenants roll, and potentially working with the owners of an adjacent three-acre property to expand the development. Currently, the site is used to park taxi cabs.

Potrero was underwritten to a five-year hold. "But we will watch it very closely," says Anderson, whose weighted average IRR goals is typically in the teens. "That neighborhood is being transformed daily."

The company is pursuing other office and property investments in the region. "We have a property in Sacramento in escrow and have offers out on a couple of office buildings in Downtown San Francisco," Anderson says.

Including this latest acquisition, the company has about $170 million of property in the western US over the past eight months. Much the recent activity has been focused in the Greater Phoenix area, says Anderson.

Ken Hulbert of GVA Daum Commercial in Newport Beach represented Birtcher Anderson Realty in the acquisition of Potrero Business Center. Marcella Harrison and Tim Mason of GVA Whitney Cressman in San Francisco represented the seller, Potrero Business Center LLC.

Copyright � 2006 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

by GlobeSt.com

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Potrero Business Center sold for $17.2M

Making its first plunge into the Northern California office market, Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC has shelled out $17.2 million for Potrero Business Center, a three-building, 134,444-square-foot office complex at 1740, 1750 and 1760 Cesar Chavez Street.

Built in 1986, the Potrero Business Center includes two, single-story buildings and one, two-story building and is 95 percent occupied by 14 tenants including Davita Dialysis Clinic, Aramark, Inc., Cupertino Electric and Graybar Electric Co. The center includes 167 off-street parking spaces.

Bob Anderson, chief executive officer at San Juan Capistrano-based Birtcher Anderson Realty, said the 4.5-acre parcel offers flexibility.

"It could be a future development site, but we also like it for what it is," he said. "We think there is a dearth of opportunities like this and see a very bright future for the property."

Including this latest acquisition, the company has acquired in excess of $170 million of property in the western United States over the past eight months.

Anderson said the proximity to the Third Street Light Rail, scheduled to open late this year, as well as UCSF's burgeoning Mission Bay campus, made the property attractive.

"We are watching with great interest all that is going on there," said Anderson. "We're plopping ourselves right in the path of progress."

Steve Corea, senior vice president of acquisitions at Birtcher Anderson Realty, said the commercial development sites will continue to rise in value as the furious pace of office-to-condo conversions continues to swallow up millions of square feet of attractive class B and C office space.

"San Francisco is also experiencing a boom in residential construction at the expense of potential commercial development sites," he said.

Ken Hulbert of GVA Daum Commercial in Newport Beach represented Birtcher Anderson Realty. Marcella Harrison and Tim Mason of GVA Whitney Cressman in San Francisco represented the seller, Potrero Business Center LLC.

by San Francisco Business Times

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San Francisco Offices Sell for $17.2Mln

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 -Birtcher Anderson Realty has paid $17.15 million for a three-building office-flex property in San Francisco.

The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., invesmtent firm purchased the 134,444-square-foot property at 1740, 1750 and 1760 Cesar Chavez Street from a local group, Portrero Business Center LLC, which was represented by GVA Whitney Cressman of San Francisco. Birtcher Anderson was represented by GVA Daum Commercial of Newport Beach, Calif.

The property marks the first investment in Northern California for Birtcher, which focuses its activities in Southern California and other select Western markets.

The property it acquired, Portrero Business Center, was constructed in 1986 and is 95 percent occupied by 14 tenants, including Aramark Inc. and Graybar Electric Co. It is just off the I-280 freeway and a mile from Highway 101.

The San Francisco office market has improved dramatically, with vacancy dropping to 14.2 percent at the end of the first quarter from 19.4 percent a year earlier, according to Reis Inc. Rents, as a result, are starting to climb. At the end of the first quarter, asking rents hit $31.16/sf, up from $28.85/sf a year ago.

Very little office space has been constructed in the past year - Reis lists a mere 33,000 sf as being completed last year. Meanwhile, Birtcher Anderson says that some 3 million sf of commercial space in the city has been converted to residential use over the past four years.

Copyright � 2006 Commercial Real Estate Direct. All rights reserved. www.crenews.com

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Birtcher Pays $29 Mil for SoCal Industrial Portfolio

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA. - January 26, 2006 -Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC, a San Juan Capistrano-based commercial real estate investment firm, has acquired a 12-building, 251.2k sf industrial property portfolio for $28.76 mil ($114/sf) from Newport Beach-based ZMI Real Estate Inc. The SoCal portfolio includes Carson Industrial Center in Carson, Civic Commerce Center in Irwindale and Simpson Business Park in Escondido. The properties are nearly 100 percent occupied by small local tenants.

Both the buyer and seller represented themselves in the transaction. Knightsbridge Realty Capital of Newport Beach acted as the mortgage broker. Following is more information on each of the multi-tenant industrial properties:

• Carson Industrial Center: Located at 17101 - 17121 Central Ave in Carson, the two-building center built in 1970 totals 94.2k sf and is situated on 4.36 acres.

• Civic Commerce Center: Located at 16021 - 16031 E. Arrow Hwy in Irwindale, the six-building center built in 1987 totals 101k sf and is situated on 6.04 acres.

• Simpson Business Park: Located at 1305 - 1317 Simpson Ave in Escondido, the four-building center built in 1981 totals 55.9k sf and is situated on 3.23 acres.

"Birtcher Anderson Realty has made many investments recently in office product with large tenant leasing challenges. This investment in small tenant industrial product with high occupancies represented a good diversification for us," said Bob Anderson, CEO for Birtcher Anderson Realty. "The strong entrepreneurial business culture in Southern California creates strong and reliable demand for this type of product, thus making for a long-term investment that is resistant to the negative affects of cyclical economic downturns." Anderson added that there was a lot of competition for this desirable portfolio. The company was fortunate to have a solid relationship with the seller, as well as a track record of reliability for closing transactions.

Birtcher Anderson Realty acquired $156 mil in office and industrial transactions totaling 1.1 msf during 2005, primarily in Southern California and Arizona. Office acquisitions totaled 75 percent, and industrial properties totaled 25 percent of their 2005 product acquisition mix.

by RENTV.com

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One-Year Owner Divvies Office Complex, Gets $50M From First Sale

PHOENIX, AZ. - October 5, 2005- Crown West Realty, based in Spokane, WA, has sold a 299,200-sf, four-building portfolio to Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC in Laguna Nigel, CA for $50 million. The transaction disposes of a portion of a seven-building, 440,000-sf portfolio purchased in July 2004 for $51.3 million.

The portfolio is located in the Arizona Business Park, between Bell and Greenway roads on the west side of Interstate 17. "Crown still owns three other buildings in the park," comments Bob Buckley, senior vice president with Trammell Crow Co.'s Phoenix office. "We're working on disposing one of them as we speak. The other as some transition to go through. "Besides Buckley, the TCC team includes Barry Gabel, Melinda Korth, Tracy Cartledge and Steve Lindley. Information about the third building, being marketed by another broker, was unavailable by publication time.

"It was basically an opportunistic play for Crown when they bought it," Buckley tells GlobeSt.com. "They repositioned the assets through strategic leasing activities and are disposing of the buildings as they're repositioned."

The portfolio was on the market about two months. It attracted 15 offers. Birtcher was selected as a final buyer because the principals' have a strong knowledge of the market. "They'd actually owned a building in the business park at one point and were familiar with the location," Buckley says, adding Birtcher also offered the most competitive pricing.

Birtcher acquired a 100%-leased portfolio, developed between 1982 and 1998. The single-tenant buildings are leased to American International Group Inc. TriWest Healthcare Alliance, NCS Pearson Inc. and Hypercom Corp. And, Buckley says, there's no concerns about immediate lease rolls. "This is a long-term hold for the buyer," he says.

by GlobeSt.com

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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.

by RENTV.com

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Birtcher Anderson Nabs Fullerton Towers

IRVINE, CALIF. – March 17, 2005 – Birtcher Anderson Realty has purchased Fullerton Towers, a two-building, 223.6k sf office complex in the city of Fullerton. The property consists of one nine-story tower and one seven-story building, as well as a separate parcel of land, which is ground-leased to Farmer Boys Restaurant for the planned construction of a restaurant. Brokers in the area estimate that the property sold in the mid-$37 mil range, or somewhere around $167/sf..

Fullerton Towers is considered one of the most prominent Fullerton office properties and is situated in the midst of recent and ongoing revitalization within Fullerton city limits. This includes an expansion by St. Jude Medical Center, continuing enhancement to historic Downtown Fullerton, new single and multifamily residential development and new recreational and service amenities.

Fullerton Towers was sold by Jim and Greg Knapp, a father and son team and principals in The Brookhollow Group, which has owned the property since 1983. Brookhollow is a commercial real estate investment and development firm with over 30 years of office and industrial experience in Southern California. The CB Richard Ellis team of Robert Smith, Michael Kane, Karen Scholte and Erin Brehm represented the seller in the deal.

HQ’d out of Laguna Niguel, Birtcher Anderson Realty, is a commercial real estate investment entity founded in March 2004 by industry veterans Arthur Birtcher and Robert Anderson and is part of the Birtcher Real Estate Group Family of Companies. The Birtcher Group has constructed and developed more than 200 commercial and industrial properties comprising more than 50 msf. Birtcher has also acquired in excess of $2 bil of real estate through public and private vehicles and on an advisory basis.

by RENTV.com

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Birtcher Anderson Realty Closes $14 Mil Laguna Hills Medical Office Buy

IRVINE, CALIF. – January 17, 2005 – Birtcher Anderson Realty LLC has acquired Laguna Hills Square, a four-building medical office center totaling 51.7k sf, for $14.1 mil ($273/sf). The seller was Lafayette-based Bedford Properties Investors. Mike Randall of the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis represented both the buyer and the seller.

The center is located at 24401, 24411, 24421 and 24431 Calle de la Louisa in Laguna Hills, near the Laguna Hills Mall and Leisure World. The 2.5-acre property was built in 1982 and is 100% leased to medical tenants including Saddleback Medical Center and Harvard Eye Associates.

"Laguna Hills Square is a solid, long-term investment for Birtcher Anderson Realty," said chief executive officer, Bob Anderson. "The property’s irreplaceable location, adjacent to the medical center, regional mall and the senior residential community, provides downside protection, while the lack of available property for competitive development provides strong upside potential through future rental growth."

Birtcher Anderson Realty is a Laguna Niguel-based commercial real estate investment entity formed within the Birtcher Real Estate Group of companies. According to Anderson, in 2005 the company plans to purchase and develop commercial property in excess of $150 mil, primarily in Southern California and the Phoenix area.

by RENTV.com

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