Ocean View Office Site Sells for $28M

CARLSBAD, CA-The 74,891-sf Ocean Ridge at Carlsbad Ranch, one of the newest office developments in this submarket, has traded for $27.5 million, according to brokers from Los Angeles-based Madison Partners. The class A property, built in 2006, overlooks the Pacific Ocean in North San Diego County at 5796 Armada Dr., at the intersection of Armada and Fleet in the Carlsbad Ranch portion of Carlsbad.

Madison Partners director Ron Jacobson and principal Bob Safai represented the transaction between buyer LaSalle Investment Management of Chicago and Irvine-based seller Palomar Lowe under an exclusive listing with the seller. The purchase was facilitated by LaSalle on behalf of the Hawaii State Employees Pension Fund, for which LaSalle is investment manager for real estate acquisitions.

The Ocean Ridge project is a three-story building situated on 3.8 acres of land approximately one half-mile east of the Interstate-5 Freeway. The steel-frame, stone and glass façade building was 69% occupied at the time of the sale.

Jacobson points out that the office project, still in its initial lease-up stage, “was truly a one-of-a-kind investment opportunity, and the finest office building in the Carlsbad submarket.” The building was developed by Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group and was designed by Brian Paul & Associates with above-standard capital upgrades, 25,000-sf floor plates and state-of-the-art energy management.

Ocean Ridge was built on the last remaining lot in the master-planned Carlsbad Ranch Business Park and was sold at a 6.8% cap rate after stabilization and initial lease-up at pro forma rates, according to Jacobson. Its tenants include Morgan Stanley, JPI Development, Ajilon Professional Staffing, PGP Valuation, Meketa Investments and Macquarie Funds.