Rockefeller buys $212m LA portfolio

The New York-based real estate investment manager has purchased two offices in Beverly Hills from Tishman Speyer.

Rockefeller Group Investment Management, the investment management subsidiary of New York-based property owner, developer and investment manager The Rockefeller Group, has acquired a portfolio of two West Los Angeles office properties from Tishman Speyer for $212 million. The properties, known as UTA Plaza and The Ice House, total 236,000 square feet.

“We remain focused on acquiring high-quality assets in gateway markets, and we are very pleased with the strong fit offered by these properties,” said Atsushi Nakajima, president and chief executive officer of The Rockefeller Group, in a statement.

UTA Plaza is comprised of two, four-story buildings totaling approximately 191,000 square feet.  Major tenants include United Talent Agency and Playboy Enterprises. The Ice House, also four stories, totals approximately 45,000 square feet and is the headquarters of Live Nation Worldwide. Both buildings are fully occupied.

“These are distinctive properties in an established institutional market,” said Dennis Irvin, president and chief executive officer of Rockefeller Group Investment Management, in a statement.  “They represent premier assets with prominent tenants in a highly desirable submarket with supply constraints, all of which combine to offer stability, liquidity and good long-term prospects.”

UTA Plaza was built in 1985 and renovated in 2012, while the Ice House originally was built in 1925 for ice manufacturing and later converted to office space.  It was renovated in 1993 and again in 2014. Tishman originally purchased the properties from The Blackstone Group in 2011.

In July 2013, The Rockefeller Group closed on $250 million in equity for its debut US property offering, Rockefeller Group US Premier Office Fund.  The fundraising, which included investments from Japanese and European pension plans, also included contributions from The Rockefeller Group and its senior executives. It is unclear whether these properties will be part of that fund.