San Diego Commercial Real Estate Wrap-Up – November 2020

San Diego Research and Development District. Image courtesy of IQHQ

Over the past month, San Diego was relatively quiet in terms of commercial real estate activity, though certain areas including the industrial sector continued to draw interest. Life sciences, one of the metro’s mainstays, also remained hot, with one of the sector’s developers closing a $1.7 billion equity raise targeting future developments. Read our November list of San Diego must-knows:

1. FINANCING – IQHQ raises $1.7 billion dollars for life science developments.

This is the second round of financing for the developer, which completed a $770 million capital raise earlier this year. CenterSquare Investment Management is among the new investors who participated in the latest equity raise. IQHQ’s portfolio includes approximately 4.4 million square feet of projects in Boston, San Francisco and San Diego. The company, formerly known as Creative Science Properties, made its first purchase in February, when it acquired a 285,000-square-foot laboratory building in Boston. In September, IQHQ broke ground on the first phase of a $1.5 billion life sciences campus in San Diego. Completion is scheduled for 2023.

2. DEAL – Elion Partners buys two facilities in $83 million West Coast deal.

The firm acquired two last-mile San Diego facilities in a four-property, 425,000-square-foot portfolio deal. The first asset is located at 2340 Cousteau Court in Vista. The 134,299-square-foot property is within 3 miles of McClellan–Palomar Airport. the The second facility at 6955 Consolidated Way encompasses 82,781 square feet. The $83 million trade also included more than 200,000 square feet near Seattle and in the Bay Area.

3. LEASING – Healthcare manufacturer leases entire industrial property. 

Rexford Industrial welcomed Quidel at a 106,400-square-foot asset in the Sorrento Mesa area. According to RENTV, the landlord recently completed $3.5 million in capital improvements. Located at 10015 Waples Court, the facility is within 2 miles of Interstate 805. Rexford purchased the property in 2019 for $21.3 million. Evan McDonald and Tom Mercer of Colliers represented the landlord in the 10-year lease agreement.

4. DEVELOPMENT – SENTRE completes renovation of creative office building.

The owner of Mosaic, the 60,313-square-foot property, added outdoor flex spaces, updated the building façade and implemented drought-resistant landscaping. The structure also boasts health and wellness improvements, such as an updated HVAC system and skylights. The tenant roster includes Interior Logic Group and Microsemi Corp., with JLL’s Tim Olson and Jay Alexander marketing the property’s available space. Located at 15822 Bernardo Centre Drive in Rancho Bernardo, the building is 1 mile from Interstate 15. SENTRE acquired the property for $14.2 million in 2019.