Dealmaker: Newmark Completes L.A. Office Sales For $157M

(Union Bank Plaza, Los Angeles.)

Newmark, New York, completed two separate downtown Los Angeles office property sales totaling $157 million.

The first property, Union Bank Plaza, a 675,945-square-foot mixed-use office tower, sold for $111 million. The second property, 801 South Grand, a 215,097-square-foot office tower, sold for $46 million.

Newmark Co-Head and U.S. Capital Markets Kevin Shannon, Executive Managing Directors Ken White and Rob Hannan and Senior Managing Directors Laura Stumm and Michael Moll and Associate Director Alex Beaton represented the sellers in both transactions–KBS when it sold Union Bank Plaza to buyer Waterbridge and CIM when it sold 801 South Grand to buyer Elat Properties.

“Both of these downtown Los Angeles office sales got done ahead of the new Mansion Tax, which was an important driver,” Shannon said. “These transactions clearly demonstrate the tremendous basis advantage available for contrarian investors, which will allow them to be extremely competitive to attract new tenants.”

Standing 40 stories tall on a 3.6-acre site, Union Bank Plaza spans a city block and is the largest single tower site in downtown Los Angeles. Located at 445 South Figueroa Street, the asset was 62% leased at closing to a tenant roster anchored by Union Bank, which occupies 30% of the property. The property also includes 27,200 square feet of retail space.

801 South Grand was 74% leased at closing to a tenant roster with a 5.4-year weighted-average lease term. Built in 1986 and renovated in 2014, the property has 11 office stories and over 8,000 plus square feet of retail space. Close to the 110 Freeway and blocks from the 7th Street Metro station, 801 South Grand sits in a transit-oriented location directly adjacent to Whole Foods Market and near L.A. Live and the Crypto.com Arena.

Though down from pre-pandemic levels, Los Angeles was the second leading market for volume of office investment sales, trailing only Manhattan.