Orange County Office Asset Trades for $28M

Sagard Real Estate has sold the Tustin Financial Plaza, a 185,180-square-foot office property in Tustin, Calif., for $27.5 million. A local investment firm acquired the property. CBRE represented the seller in the transaction proceedings.

The asset previously traded for $32 million in 2006, CommercialEdge data shows. The flagship fund of Sagard Real Estate—formerly EverWest Real Estate Investors—acquired it.

Tustin Financial Plaza consists of five buildings with floorplates ranging between 14,641 and 18,150 square feet. The campus had an occupancy rate of 70 percent at the time of the sale, with the tenant roster including FedEx and Schmidt & Associates, among others. Amenities comprise an on-site conference center and 533 parking spaces.

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The campus sits on 8.5 acres at 17772, 17782, 17822, 17852 and 17862 E. 17th St. in Orange County. Downtown Tustin and Santa Ana, Calif., are about 2 and 4 miles away, respectively. Several retail options and quick-service restaurants operate within walking distance.

CBRE Vice Chairman Anthony Delorenzo together with First Vice Presidents Sammy Cemo and Greg Sullivan, as well as Director Bryan Johnson, spearheaded the transaction efforts on behalf of Sagard Real Estate.

Sagard’s steps to reduce office exposure

John Maurer, Head of Equity at Sagard Real Estate, said in prepared remarks that the sale aligns with the firm’s strategy of reducing office exposure and pivoting toward the industrial and multifamily sectors.

Sagard’s office portfolio included the Westbelt Office Center, a 134,707-square-foot property in Houston. The asset reached near full occupancy this May when Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas inked an 11.5-year, 132,000-square-foot lease. The buildout will be completed in early 2025.

Orange County office investment lays dormant

The office investment volume in Orange County declined by 17.2 percent quarter-over-quarter and 69.6 percent year-over-year, amounting to $94 million during the third quarter, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

Although the price per square foot contracted by 17.3 percent quarter-over-quarter, the growth was positive year-over-year reaching 34.9 percent, the report shows. Orange County’s price per square foot clocked in at $263 in 2024’s third quarter.

Since March 2020, Orange County’s office vacancy rate spiked by 820 basis points, landing at 18.6 percent in September, Cushman & Wakefield’s report shows. Still, the average asking rate remained stable across the past four quarters, despite the upward vacancy trends. Orange County office rents averaged at $2.87 per square foot in September.