Redwood Partners Acquires Metro LA Asset for $61M

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

100 W. Broadway

In a $60.5 million deal, Redwood Partners has acquired The Hubb, a 210,428-square-foot premier creative office property in Long Beach, Calif., from a joint venture between Singerman Real Estate and Ocean West Capital Partners.

Newmark Knight Frank’s U.S. Capital Markets team facilitated the transaction on behalf of the seller. At the time of the deal, the property was 88 percent leased to a diverse set of office and retail tenants, with WeWork serving as its anchor tenant.

“Downtown Long Beach is underserved when it comes to creative office product, a recently renovated and repositioned asset like this one was very attractive to potential buyers,” Rob Hannan, Newmark Knight Frank’s executive managing director, told Commercial Property Executive. “The seller acquired the asset in November 2015 and it was always the plan to be a short-term hold. Since it had completed its value-add initiative by repositioning into a creative office asset and stabilized the rent roll to 88 percent, the exit strategy was next.” 

$12M in improvements have added to appeal

The Hubb was built in 1986 and recently underwent a $12 million comprehensive capital improvement program that was finished last year. The renovations included adding high and exposed ceilings, operable windows, polished concrete floors and full-height glass lines.

One of The Hubb’s most noteworthy features is its WorkPark, an indoor-outdoor amenity area that boasts a modern outdoor office environment with worktables, seating, lounge chairs and Wi-Fi stations. The six-story property also offers an adjacent six-level parking structure.

Located at 100 W. Broadway, The Hubb takes up one full city block on a little over two acres of land. The property consists of both an East and West Tower. The nearby Pine Avenue offers plenty of fine dining and entertainment options and the asset sits just a half-block from the Metro Blue Line’s downtown Long Beach station. It’s also close to the Catalina Express, the Long Beach Airport, CityPlace Shopping Center and the East Village loft district.

“The interest in the asset was strong and very well received due to the fantastic repositioning effort put forth by OW and Singerman in addition to the leasing activity they were able to execute post-renovation,” Hannan said. “This asset is in the heart of downtown Long Beach at a ‘main and main’ location with an abundance of tenant-friendly amenities on-site and within steps of the property. This is all very attractive to users seeking an urban environment to attract and retain employees.”

The Newmark Knight Frank team on the deal also consisted of Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Kevin Shannon, Executive Managing Director Ken White and Senior Managing Directors Laura Stumm and Michael Moll. Redwood Partners was represented by Bob Safai of Madison Partners.

Earlier this month, Newmark Knight Frank represented Delaware Valley Real Estate Investment Fund LP, in its disposition of 1001 Adams Ave., a 137,000-square-foot building in Audubon, Pa., and it also represented a joint venture led by SteelWave in the $141.7 million sale of Canyon Park Business Center, a 17-building, 632,591-square-foot property in the Seattle suburb of Bothell. 

Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank