The 3 Hutton Center in Santa Ana, CA, has been sold by Cushman & Wakefield. The 198,161 square feet office tower has been purchase by Cypress Office Properties. They entered into a joint venture with Harbert United States Real Estate Fund. The tower, which is found in the airport district, was previously owned by TH Real Estate, which is part of TIAA Global Asset Management. The sale’s terms and conditions have not been disclosed by any of the companies.
About Cypress Office Properties
Cypress Office Properties is a well know real estate investment firm in San Diego, CA.
Cypress Office Properties, LLC (“Cypress”) is a San Diego-based real estate investment and operating company that specializes in acquisitions and asset management of value-add, core plus, and redevelopment office properties in key markets within the Southwest United States. The company’s primary geographic focus is San Diego, Orange County, and Phoenix, where there is tremendous upside potential.
The company continuously looks for new joint venture partnerships, like the one with Harbert United States Real Estate Fund, in an effort to increase their returns. For 3 Hutton Center, they have big plans, starting with modernizing the common areas.
About Harbert United States Real Estate Fund
Harbert United States Real Estate Fund, meanwhile, is another real estate investment firm with a long standing history.
Our approach is hands-on, targeting properties that we believe are undervalued, and where value can be created through focused operational and financial management. We seek smaller, more entrepreneurial transactions, typically between $20 million and $80 million, that are too large for individual investors but too small for the larger funds.
The partnership between the two real estate investment firms is one that has drawn the attention of businesses, investors, and the community alike, who are all looking at how 3 Hutton Center will now be changed.
About Cushman & Wakefield
The deal was closed under representation of Cushman & Wakefield’s Rick Reeder, Robert Lambert, Nico Napolitano, Ed Hernandez, and Jeffrey Cole. They worked together with CBRE’s John Wiener to close the deal on the office building, which is ten stories high. When sold, 90% of the property was leased, which made the transaction easier on the one hand, as landlords would not have to find new tenants, but it also made the transaction more difficult. This is because it hasn’t been clear whether there may be exclusive use clauses in place.
Fifty percent of the property is leased out to the USA Social Security, PSOMAS, the U.S. Department of Defense, Compwest Insurance, and Yardi Systems. Although no details about the deal have been released, it is believed that the current tenants will all remain. CompWest Insurance in particular has been a driving characteristic of the Santa Ana community.
CompWest Insurance Company is a dynamic provider of workers’ compensation insurance in California and select Western states, targeting customers in health care, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, retail and wholesale services, and artisan contractors, ranging in premium up to $1,500,000 (maximum of $250,000 for artisan contractors).
Other Major Orange County Real Estate Developments
Besides the 3 Hutton Center nomination, Faris Lee Investments, based in Irvine, have started to expand into Los Angeles. This has been, in part, thanks to work completed by their broker, Patrick Toomey. Toomey works for Matthews Retail Advisors, but he has now joined Faris Lee. During his time at Matthews Retail Advisors, he was national director and vice president. Additionally, he worked for the CBRE National Retail Investment Group-West for a decade.
Another major development in Orange County is that of the opening of an office in Newport Beach by United Capital Financial Advisors. They chose the 120 Newport Center Drive location for their new office. At the head of it is Bruce Lacey.
Orange County People in Real Estate
Special attention is being paid to people in real estate, including David Saleh, who has recently joined the Mason-McDuffie Mortgage team. He is a senior loan officer and will work out of the office in Irvine. Saleh is highly experienced, having worked in financial services for over a decade, with a specialization in lending and banking.
The CREW-OC Spire Awards
The CREW-OC Spire Awards have been launched for this year, and nominations are now open. It is believed that the 3 Hutton Center transaction may lead to one of the first winning an award. The awards are much awaited every year, celebrating women in business.
Commercial Real Estate Women-Orange County (www.crew-oc.org) is a professional organization providing its women and men members with a network to strengthen and extend business relationships and form valuable personal contacts.
This year is the sixth time that the SPIRE awards are being help. The Commercial Real Estate Women Orange County chapter will be presenting it again this year. The focus will be specifically on teams and/or individuals in the categories of:
1. Philanthropy
2. Lending
3. Leasing sales
4. Tenant improvements
5. Building renovations
6. New construction
7. Women in commercial real estate
All nominations in the seven categories have to be received by February 3, 2017, and the awards will be handed out on March 29, 2017. The above real estate companies are likely to receive nominations. This is because they meet the requirements that the SPIRE community is looking for.
The SPIRE Awards program is an opportunity to showcase your outstanding performance in the Orange County real estate market, while gaining invaluable media exposure and recognition for yourself, your clients, your team and your organization. The 2016 Awards are open to all men, women and project teams who have made a significant impact in 2016.
Nominations can be made online through the SPIRE website. It should be noted, however, that the company does reserve the right to limit how many nominations each company can make. This is because there would be an unfair advantage if a company with a huge number of employees would all vote for themselves, or for a partner. The award is about recognizing hard work and dedication to the community, after all.
