BLT Enterprises Sells San Diego R&D Facility

5454 Ruffin Road

BLT Enterprises has sold a research & development facility in San Diego’s Kearny Mesa submarket for a record price of $330 per square foot. The transaction closed at $18 million, the buyer being San Diego Unified School District. A team of brokers from SD Realty Partners and CBRE represented the seller while Colliers International worked on behalf of the buyer.

The two-story building is located at 5454 Ruffin Road and it originally encompassed 54,000 square feet. In the late 1980s it underwent a 23,000-square-foot office expansion, which increased the property’s total square footage to 77,000. After BLT acquired it in 2017, the second-story office space was demolished and the facility was restored to its original size.

“The addition of this mezzanine made the property severely under parked,” said Bernard Huberman, the founder & president of the company. “By restoring the property to its original size, we were able to create a highly-functional environment that appealed to a diverse range of prospective buyers, and ultimately added to the long-term value of the property.”

In addition to removing the office component, the former owner completed several other upgrades at the property. It added an outdoor amenity space, new lobby, exposed high ceilings, skylights, dual-pane energy efficient glazing and LED lighting.

The brokers involved in the deal were Ron Jacobson of SD Realty, Brad Black and Chris Pascale from CBRE as well as Tom Mercer from Colliers International. Earlier this year, SD Realty represented BLT in a $38.3 million industrial deal in San Diego’s Carlsbad submarket.

Image courtesy of BLT Enterprises