The San Diego Commercial real estate market is ending the 2020 year with some high profile deals and closings that may change the shape of the local property market.
1.IQHQ Closed on $1.7 Billion in Financing for Life Science Developments
In September 2021, the Solana Beach-based real estate investment trust (REIT) company IQHQ completed the acquisition of 1.5 billion dollars of commercial property in the city of San Diego for its life science projects.
The new massive development is called the ‘San Diego Research and Development District (RaDD)‘ and is expected to transform downtown real estate.
IQHQ broke ground on the $1.5 billion San Diego life sciences campus in September, and its completion is slated for 2023.
The billion-dollar project would be the third significant commercial development, along with the Padres’s new planned office space at Tailgate Park, and the redevelopment of Horton Plaza into a tech hub.
This development may prove to be a boom for other real estate investors who are searching for opportunities to expand their market share.
2. Otay Mesa building sells for $109 million
A Denver company has purchased one of San Diego County’s largest industrial buildings for $109 million, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The 601,417-square-foot industrial building in Otay Mesa at 2020 Piper Ranch Road is fully leased and situated in the rapidly growing industrial center near the U.S.-Mexican border.
Tenants in the building, which takes up 31 acres, include QS Customs Brokers, Atlas Freight Forwarding, Balboa Water Group, R.L. Jones and Biotix, according to real estate tracker CoStar.
The sale was announced by Cushman & Wakefield, who represented seller Morgan Stanley Services Group. It did not disclose the purchase price but the San Diego County Assessor-Recorder’s Office said the sale price was $109 million based on public transfer tax documents.
“2020 Piper Ranch Road is a state-of-the-art distribution/warehouse facility that presented the rare market opportunity for a critical mass of Class A industrial real estate that is 100 percent leased and situated in one of the fastest-growing submarkets in Southern California,” wrote Cushman & Wakefield vice chairman Jeff Cole in a news release.
3. The 82,781 square-foot industrial property on Consolidated Way near MCAS Miramar sold for $15 million
The building long used by San Diego Gas & Electric sold to an undisclosed buyer for $15 million, CBRE announced this week, according to the Times of San Diego.
SDG&E occupied the property for several decades but will vacate it at the end of the month.
“This transaction illustrates the strength of the San Diego industrial market,” Dolan said. “Despite the pandemic, investor demand is incredibly strong for well-located industrial assets, as demonstrated by investors’ willingness to take on the lease-up risk of acquiring a vacant property.”
The buyer, Sparks said, recently purchased industrial properties in El Cajon and Vista.
4. A four-acre corner industrial property in the city of Vista sold for nearly $11.4 million to Tempo Communications, Inc.
The 68,222 square-foot building with office space is located at 1390 Aspen Way from Emerson Charitable Trust, according to the San Diego Business Journal.
Rusty Williams, Chris Roth, and Jake Rubendall of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. North San Diego County in partnership with Curt Stanton and Ryan Bertin of Axiom Advisory Group represented the seller.
The buyer was represented by Andy Melzer of Cushman & Wakefield North County.
5. Cleveland-based Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC opened new offices in Phoenix and La Jolla.
The commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company is a subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment Inc., according to Connect Group Media.
The expansion is expected to add more than $1.5 billion in loan volume over the next twelve months. The firm recorded robust loan production volume of $7.9 billion in 2019.
6. San Diego-based Hill Properties acquired Environmental Plaza, an industrial campus in Sorrento Valley for $15.3 million.
Located at 4174-4206 Sorrento Valley Blvd., the seven-building, 91,669-square-foot industrial campus offers suites ranging from 1,000 to 4,200 square feet. The property was 87% leased at the time of sale to 37 tenants. The site is one-half mile from the I-5 and I-805 interchange, connecting Sorrento Valley to the rest of San Diego County, according to Connect Media.
CBRE’s Matt Pourcho, Anthony DeLorenzo, Gary Stache, Bryan Johnson and Bill Dolan represented the seller. The buyer was self-represented.
Pourcho says, “It is extremely rare to be able to acquire such a stable, well-located asset in the increasingly tight industrial submarket of Central San Diego with in-place rents substantially below market. We received a total of 21 offers and conducted 36 tours reflecting a record amount of interest in this property. We saw 1031 buyers, REITS and institutions at the table.”
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Maurice is the Chief Inspector for U.S. Commercial Building Inspections of Southern California. He is a Certified Commercial Property Inspector (CCPI) with over 25 years of extensive experience in real estate, construction, restoration, remediation, and business development.
He holds numerous inspection certifications with the Commercial Property Inspectors Association (CCPIA), the International Association of Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), and he is also a Certified Mold Inspector (CMI), Certified Mold Remediator (CMR), and a member of the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA).
