San Diego Commercial Real Estate Wrap-Up – July 2020

Sorrento Tech. Image courtesy of Devin Muna

Despite a large spike in COVID-19 cases in the area, San Diego had a healthy amount of commercial real estate activity through July, both in terms of developments and investment. The metro’s life sciences space remained in high demand, even as many companies continued to operate remotely. As the city and state continue to struggle with the effects of the pandemic, local authorities extended the eviction moratorium—both for commercial and residential tenants—until the end of September. Read our July list of San Diego must-knows:

1. FINANCING – Sorrento Valley office park gets $39 million loan.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners received the refinancing package from Invesco Real Estate for Sorrento Tech, a 93,480-square-foot office and R&D campus, according to Yardi Matrix. The borrower paid BLT Enterprises $39 million for the asset in May. Located at 10070, 10140, and 10180 Barnes Canyon Road, the property’s three buildings completed in 1984 and 1985. The park is within 2 miles of Interstate 805 and 15 miles north of downtown San Diego.

2. DEVELOPMENT – Badiee Development delivers flex industrial facility.

The firm finalized construction work at Carlsbad Innovate, a 50,150-square-foot property in Carlsbad. TFW was the general contractor for the Smith Consulting Architects-designed project. The building is 70 percent leased to Zense and The Berg Group and has 15,558 square feet of remaining available space. Located on 6 acres at 2810 Caribou Court, the property is 3 miles from the McClellan-Palomar Airport and 5 miles from Interstate 5.

3. DEAL – Invesco pays $34 million for 1,640-unit self storage property.

The company partnered with Baranoff Holdings to acquire Morena Storage, a facility with 108,700 square feet of rentable space. Cushman & Wakefield’s Brant Aberg, Bryce Aberg and Zachary Harman assisted the seller and original developer of the asset. The property was 90 percent leased at the time of closing and has climate-controlled units ranging from 20 to 350 square feet. The two-story facility is located at 908 Sherman St.

4. LEASING – CBRE negotiates 74,000-square-foot Torrey Pines life sciences lease.

Rich Danesi, Jed Stirnkorb and Andrew Hugget assisted owner Healthpeak Properties in the deal with Cooley, according to RENTV. The law firm will occupy space at The Boardwalk, a 195,000-square-foot project with an estimated cost of $165 million. The owner will develop two new buildings and renovate an existing 85,000-square-foot property. Amenities will include a conference center, 5,000-square-foot gym and café. The site is located at 10265, 10275 and 10285 Science Center Drive in Torrey Pines.

5. DEAL – Joint venture pays $17 million for industrial asset.

A partnership between LPC West and Crow Holdings Capital acquired the 112,000-square-foot industrial building from GES, according to Yardi Matrix. Situated on 7 acres at 491 C St. in a designated Foreign Trade Zone, the warehouse is 3 miles from interstates 5 and 805 and 12 miles from San Diego International Airport.

6. PEOPLE – LPC West hires new investments VP.

The West Coast division of Lincoln Property Co. welcomed Ben Bucci to oversee its acquisition and investment operations in the region. Prior to joining the firm, Bucci served as an acquisitions associate at Westcore Properties, where he completed transactions totaling more than $300 million. Earlier in his career, he worked as an associate director with Newmark Knight Frank and as a real estate analyst with HFF.

7. DEAL – Healthcare Realty Trust buys medical office building.

A joint venture between ALTO Real Estate Funds and Milan Capital Management sold Pomerado Professional Plaza, a 46,183-square-foot property near Poway, for $16.7 million at a cap rate of 5.8 percent. The seller had paid $9.3 million for the property in 2015, according to Yardi Matrix. The building was 90 percent leased at the time of the transaction. Located at 15708 Pomerado Road, the property was completed in 1983 and renovated in 2016.