Optimus Properties Sells Office-to-Resi Development in L.A.’s South Bay for $31M
The sellers acquired the asset for under $16M in 2019
By Greg Cornfield July 10, 2024 12:35 pm
reprints
A fully leased, midsize office building in Los Angeles County’s South Bay has sold for a sizable premium thanks to an approved plan to flip it into a multifamily property.
Optimus Properties announced it sold the 65,300-square-foot building in Torrance, Calif. — along with entitlements to redevelop it into 272 apartments — to Rose Equities for $30.5 million. The L.A.-based seller acquired the asset for $15.8 million in 2019.
The office is on a 5.5-acre site at 2325 Crenshaw Boulevard. It is fully leased to the County of Los Angeles and has served as the regional office of Department of Children and Family Services since 1999.
Optimus said the firm recognized the softening of the office market after the pandemic, and quietly marketed the site to multifamily developers.
“We always try to have multiple exit strategies to ensure a safe investment and high returns for our investors,” K. Joseph Shabani, principal at Optimus, said in a statement. “The large parcel allowed us to market this site to a multifamily builder and provide our investors with net returns approaching 26 percent per year. Without the multiple exit strategy here, we would have been at the tenant’s mercy, which is never a good place to be.”
Newmark (NMRK)‘s Anthony Muhlstein, Chris Benton, Kevin Shannon, Ken White, Gabe Munson and Colliers (CIGI)’ Ryan Plummer brokered the sale on behalf of Optimus.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
