Intercontinental RE buys CA offices for $322m

Intercontinental Real Estate has purchased a four-building office property in California, the firm said last week.

The Boston-based firm bought Apollo at Roscrans, a creative office complex, for $322 million from Invesco Real Estate and SSV Properties, a local developer, according to real estate data provider Real Capital Analytics (RCA). The sellers bought the nearly-vacant complex in August 2013 for $55.8 million, according to RCA, and repositioned the building, selling it at 98 percent occupancy.

“The Apollo project was a major undertaking, particularly in light of the market conditions at the time of acquisition in 2013,” said Pete Cassiano, Invesco’s managing director of acquisitions, in a statement last week. “We believed in the location and ability to create something unique in the market, so to have such a positive outcome is extremely satisfying.”

The 538,000 square foot, four-building office campus was built in 1970 and renovated last year. The complex is situated along the Rosecrans Corridor, an increasingly popular destination for Los Angeles’ technology and creative companies. Amenities on the 13-acre property include a basketball court, dog park, biking and walking trails and shower facilities.

“The Apollo is a one-of-a-kind property. We were able to source and purchase a rare gem that is the definition of the most desired office product in the Silicon Beach area of the Los Angeles market,” said Jessica Levin, Intercontinental’s director of acquisitions, in a statement last week. “Continuing rent hikes in neighboring markets such as Playa Vista is driving tenants to El Segundo, resulting in a vast migration of businesses to the Rosecrans Corridor. This bodes extremely well for future rent appreciation in this submarket.”

Levin said that while the property commands the highest rents in the Rosecrans Corridor, the Apollo currently leases office space at a 20 percent discount to average Silicon Beach rates.