Jamestown Makes Big Buy in Little Tokyo

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Jamestown, L.P., has acquired Brunswig Square, a historic, 140,000 square-foot commercial office and retail building in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles from a joint venture between Green Oak Real Estate and Arenda Capital Management.

The sellers originally acquired the property in 2014 for $33 million and although the price of the transaction was undisclosed, it’s been reported that Jamestown paid approximately $60 million.

“With our purchase of Brunswig Square, Jamestown is putting a stake in the ground for long-term investment in downtown Los Angeles,” Michael Phillips, Jamestown’s president, said in a prepared statement. “Our goal is to make Brunswig Square a central piece of the emerging creative hub bridging the Arts District and Little Tokyo in downtown L.A., while also honoring and preserving its place in the historic fabric of the area.”

Located at 360 E. Second St., the eight-story Brunswig Square features 110,000 square feet of high-quality office space atop 30,000 square feet of prime ground-floor retail and sits right in the middle of what is an emerging hub for technology and creative industries.

Downtown Los Angeles continues to emerge as a creative office hub, attracting leading companies including Gensler, Hyperloop, Nasty Gal, NationBuilder and WeWork, as well as an ever-increasing number of start-ups.

According to Colliers International’s most recent Los Angeles Office Market Report, the Downtown Los Angeles market had a strong second quarter in 2015 with solid leasing activity totaling 793,207 square feet, making it the second straight quarter of activity in excess of 750,000 square feet.

Originally built in 1931, the building was designed by local architects AC Martin as the home for the Brunswig Drug Co., one of the foremost innovators in the wholesale pharmaceuticals business.

According to Phillips, Jamestown will preserve the historic character of the former factory and headquarters, which was last updated in 1986 before new renovations began last year.

The previous owners began renovations on the property last year, and ongoing renovations include converting traditional office space to premium creative office space with 14’-17’ ceiling heights, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and expansive skyline views, creating inspiring outdoor gathering spaces and designing retail experiences to serve the building’s tenants and surrounding neighborhood.

Lee Polster at Westmac represented the sellers in the transaction.

Earlier this week, the Jamestown Premier Property Fund acquired Stafford Place I, a 12-story, 587,036-square-foot Class A office building in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, Va., for an undisclosed amount.