Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has represented Garaventa Properties, a family-owned venture, in its sale of a $63.4 million Northern California industrial portfolio. A partnership of Birtcher Anderson Realty and Merced Capital acquired the three projects totaling 533,700 square feet located in Concord, Fairfield and Folsom.
Cushman & Wakefield capital markets professionals Steve Hermann and Robert Gilley headed the disposition assignment with industrial leasing specialists Brooks Pedder and Tony Binswanger; Terry Daly from the firm's financial services group placed the debt for the buyer. Pedder and Binswanger, who have served as leasing agents for the properties for more than 25 years, have been retained to continue their role. Cushman & Wakefield also will assume property management under the new ownership.
The multi-market portfolio is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento suburbs. It includes the 204,726-square-foot Garaventa Park on Sprig Court and Bates Avenue in Concord; the 228,133-square-foot Fairfield Corporate Commons on Campus Lane and Executive Court in Fairfield; and the 100,832-square-foot Lake Forest Business Park on Woodmere Road, Blue Ravine Road and Lake Forest Way in Folsom.
The properties include 18 industrial, flex and office buildings that are 85 percent leased to more than 30 tenants.
"With multiple product types, strategic locations and exceptional access, this portfolio provided an outstanding opportunity to acquire a critical mass of high-quality real estate in Northern California," Hermann said. "The Birtcher Anderson/Merced partnership will be able to take advantage of strong economic and market fundamentals to leverage the existing stability and capitalize on the upside potential."
The acquisition represents Birtcher Anderson's initial foray into the Northern California market. The company is a well-established and respected owner of flex properties in Southern California.
"We are looking forward to working with the new ownership moving forward," Pedder said. "Based on the portfolio's strong track record to date and the quality of the operational team, this is sure to be a successful venture for everyone - including our tenants - moving forward."
Pedder added that the properties through the years have attracted a diverse user base including government, media, healthcare, education and insurance entities, among others.
"All three assets offer desirable business park environments and superior construction standards, along with immediate freeway access and proximity to amenities," Pedder noted. "Each features a thoughtful design that continues to meet local demand."
Cushman & Wakefield's industrial brokerage platform provides global resources and local expertise for tenant and landlord representation, disposition and acquisition services, transaction management, and industrial consulting including labor and demographic analysis. In 2014 globally, this group completed more than 8,200 industrial lease and sale transactions, including Capital Markets transactions, totaling nearly 337 million square feet with an aggregate value in excess of $16.8 billion.
###
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. The firm's 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries provide deep local and global insights that create significant value for occupiers and investors around the world. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenue of $5 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facility services (C&W Services), global occupier services, investment & asset management (DTZ Investors), project & development services, tenant representation, and valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.
