Swig Co. Purchases 12-Story Downtown L.A. Office Tower

January 11, 2012
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

The Swig Co. has just added a downtown Los Angeles office building to its portfolio with the acquisition of 617 W. 7th St. from a joint venture sponsored by Alliance Commercial Partners. Financial terms of the transaction are being kept under wraps. However, the 218,000-square-foot property last traded in 2006 when Alliance picked it up for approximately $28 million.

Sited on a corner lot, 617 7th first opened its doors in 1923 as the headquarters of the Union Oil Co. The 12-story building, which also features ground-level retail space, underwent a comprehensive makeover in 2001 and today, it offers the requisite high-tech infrastructure with the atmosphere cased in a historic structure. Instead of a tenant roster of law offices and financial entities, 617 7th features a list of occupants that includes the likes of international architectural design firm Perkins + Will, software developer Cyberdefender and the Chicago School of Psychology.

Swig has been actively pursuing its strategy of repositioning its portfolio to focus on key markets. During the fourth quarter of 2011, the private investment company sold the 460,000-square-foot Arco Center complex south of Los Angeles in Long Beach after acquiring the 86,000-square-foot, 1920s-era office building at 595 E. Colorado, along the Rose Parade route in downtown Pasadena, just outside of downtown Los Angeles.

Downtown Los Angeles office structures, however, do not trade every day. There were just two transactions in the third quarter of last year: the 213,000-square-foot building at 800 W 6th sold for $49.5 million and the 70,000-square-foot property at 1212 S. Flower St. was picked up for $18 million.