San Diego Commercial Real Estate Wrap-Up – June 2020

Vector. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

Although San Diego’s commercial real estate sector held relatively stable in June, a spike in COVID-19 cases at the end of the month led officials to shutter the county’s bars and breweries in an effort to curtail the pandemic’s spread. Even as reopening processes began to slow, investors targeted sought-after life science properties, particularly in the Sorrento Mesa neighborhood. Here’s our June selection of San Diego must-reads: 

1. DEAL – Lincoln Property sells Sorrento Mesa flex building.

An affiliate of Alexandria Real Estate Equities acquired the 62,392-square-foot, two-story property for $17 million. The building is undergoing a biotech conversion process, which the buyer will complete. The asset is located at 9877 Waples St. CBRE represented the seller, which purchased the asset from Meridian Realty Investments for $10.4 million in late 2019, Yardi Matrix shows.

2. DEAL – Carlsbad industrial asset trades for $44 million.

RPG, formerly RAF Pacific Group, has sold Vector, a newly constructed, 169,825-square-foot Class A property, to MJB Management. The suburban facility is located at 2882 Whiptail Loop E. and is leased to two tenants. The building has 30-foot clear heights, eight loading docks and six drive-in doors, according to Yardi Matrix. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the deal.

3. DEAL – Voit Real Estate completes $17 million in Sorrento Mesa sales.

In the largest of the four deals, Vice President Chris Duncan represented BPS Bioscience in its acquisition of a 37,991-square-foot office building at 6405 Mira Mesa Blvd. The buyer financed the purchase with $7.7 million in financing from CIT Bank, according to Yardi Matrix. Voit’s other transactions included 21,278-square-foot and 12,569-square-foot flex/office properties. 

4. FINANCING – Admiral Capital refinances office portfolio.

The company took $41.3 million for two properties: one in San Diego, the other in Phoenix. The California asset is located at 9444 Balboa Ave. and spans 120,992 square feet. Admiral had implemented a capital improvement plan in 2015, which included upgrades to the lobby and the addition of a gym and outdoor seating. Part of the loan, arranged by Brent Bowman from JLL, will be used to facilitate sanitation-related updates across the portfolio to prepare for reopening.

5. DEAL – SENTRE acquires Class A Carlsbad office building.

Miller Global Properties sold Ocean Ridge, a three-story, 75,937 square-foot asset, for $28.3 million, according to public records. The building came online in 2006 and is located at 5796 Armada Drive. CBRE’s Louay Alsadek and Hunter Rowe represented the seller. The brokerage also arranged $16.5 million in acquisition financing through Nassau Reinsurance Group.