CBRE GI buys CA office towers for $257m

A CBRE Global Investors (GI) fund has purchased two class A office towers in Pasadena, California, the firm said Monday.

The Los Angeles-based investment firm bought Pasadena Towers for $257 million from Boston-based private equity real estate shop Beacon Capital Partners, according to real estate data provider Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

The 477,051 square foot office campus, located at 800 East Colorado Boulevard and 55 South Lake Avenue, is 93 percent occupied, according to CBRE GI. The office buildings include both traditional floor plans and creative open offices.

The Pasadena Towers are one of five class A+ office properties in Pasadena. Beacon Capital spent $18 million on renovations that added a courtyard with WiFi, a fitness center and a 2,000 square foot conference room, according to CBRE GI’s statement.

The towers have long attracted private equity capital. Beacon bought the property in December 2011 for $111 million from The Blackstone Group, which owned the properties through its Equity Office platform, according to RCA. Before that, Macquarie Office Trust bought a 25 percent stake in the property in August 2007 from Blackstone.

“The Los Angeles economy is well-positioned to benefit from the continued expansion of the technology and media sector, and the Pasadena submarket has proven itself to recover faster than the metropolitan statistical area and the nation as a whole,” Kim Hourihan, a CBRE GI portfolio manager, said in a statement Monday. “As the home of institutions like CalTech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena offers a highly educated workforce. With the submarket emerging as ‘LA’s Other Tech Hub,’ Pasadena Towers will be able to attract both traditional and creative tenants.”