Dominguez Sells LA Office-Medical Asset for $49M

By Barbra Murray

Madrona Business Campus

Madrona Business Campus in Torrance, Calif., has come under new ownership, and Newmark Knight Frank had more than a little something to do with it. Acting on behalf of Dominguez Investment Co. LLC, the commercial real estate advisory firm orchestrated the sale of the 211,400-square-foot office/medical property, to Continental Development, in an approximately $48.8 million transaction.

“Madrona Business Campus is one of Central Torrance’s top office buildings,” Kevin Shannon, president with Newmark Knight Frank, said in a prepared statement. Carrying the addresses of 20780, 20790, 20800 and 20810 Madrona Ave., Madrona sits on 11.4 acres in the South Bay area, roughly 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Gensler designed the Class A campus of four two- and three-story structures, which were built in 1990 to house Epson North America. Today, Madrona is 95 percent occupied and counts the likes of American Honda Finance Corp., John Deere Co. and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan as its lead tenants.

NKF was joined in the representation of Dominguez by commercial real estate services firm CBRE, which provided leasing market assistance.

South Bay is turning it around

The South Bay office market is on the upswing, and the numbers tell the story. In the second quarter of 2016, there was positive growth in rental rates for the 14th time in 15 quarters, and the year-over-year vacancy rate dropped from 19.3 to 16.5 percent, per a report by commercial real estate services firm Colliers International. “The South Bay continues to be a desired destination for tenants seeking alternatives to the higher-priced submarkets to the north, as well as companies that have grown organically within the market,” per the Colliers report.

And on the investment sales front, while conditions haven’t quite returned to those seen at the height of the market, they’re headed in the right direction, as evidenced by the previous price tag on Madrona. The property last sold in 2007 for $52.5 million, according to Los Angeles County records, just a few millions more than the amount the property just fetched.

Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank