Rising Realty, Fortress Sell $79M Calabasas Office Asset

The Park Calabasas. Photo courtesy of Newmark

Rising Realty Partners and Fortress Investment Group have sold The Park Calabasas, a 222,524-square-foot low-rise creative office property, for $79 million. China-based Gemdale Corp. bought the asset through its U.S. subsidiary, Gemdale. According to CommercialEdge data, the Calabasas property previously traded for $38 million in 2013.

The Park Calabasas was 92 percent occupied by six tenants at the time of the deal, including coworking operator Spaces. Lease terms have a weighted average of 10 years remaining, Kevin Shannon, co-head of U.S. capital markets for Newmark, said in prepared remarks. In the past, the building has served as the corporate headquarters of Lockheed Martin, as well as the headquarters of Countrywide Financial (Bank of America).

LA Office Activity

“Since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen a notable increase in foreign capital, like Gemdale, along with family office and 1031 exchange capital, buying office assets to fill the void of diminished institutional demand for the asset class,” Shannon added in a prepared statement.

Newmark’s Shannon, together with Executive Managing Directors Ken White and Rob Hannan and Senior Managing Director Laura Stumm, represented the sellers. A different Newmark team, comprising Vice Chairman David Milestone and Senior Managing Director Brett Green, helped secure acquisition financing for Gemdale.

Although Los Angeles transactions kicked off 2021 at a high pace, office deals for the first two months of the year recorded an overall slowdown, with only $300 million in assets changing hands. By comparison, in 2020, more than $1 billion in office assets traded in the first two months, according to CommercialEdge data. 

A refurbished office asset

The three-story, Class A office property is located on a 20-acre site at 4500 Park Granada. The building features floor plates of 93,170 square feet and was originally constructed in 1986. In 2019, the owners deployed $12 million in cosmetic renovations.

Amenities include extensive outdoor landscaping with walking and jogging paths, outdoor meeting space, a cafeteria, a kitchen. The property’s parking ratio is 3/1,000. The property is situated along Ventura Freeway and is within walking distance of several dining, shopping and entertainment destinations.