Universal Music Group’s HQ Sells for About $810 PSF in Santa Monica: Sources

The headquarters of Universal Music Group (UMG) in Santa Monica has a new owner after one of the largest office sales of the year in Greater Los Angeles.

San Francisco-based investment and development firm Drawbridge Realty purchased 2220 Colorado Avenue, dubbed Arboretum Gateway, from Clarion Partners. Drawbridge spent nearly $185 million on the six-story, 225,800-square-foot property, sources with knowledge of the deal told Commercial Observer. 

Newmark (NMRK)’s Kevin Shannon, Alex Foshay, Ken White, Rob Hannan, Laura Stumm, and Michael Moll represented Clarion Partners in the deal. It was not immediately clear who represented Drawbridge. 

“This is a high-quality property with a strong, longtime tenant and a very creative buildout that establishes the building as one of the signature assets in Santa Monica,” Jaden Rosselli, vice president of investments and asset management at Drawbridge, said in a statement. 

Representatives for Clarion Partners and UMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

UMG has fully leased Arboretum Gateway since it was built in 1999. The company’s renewal of its lease there was the largest such deal in L.A. in the second quarter of this year, and is the third-largest lease signed in Santa Monica since 2021, behind Snap’s 467,000-square-foot deal at real estate investment trust BXP’s Santa Monica Business Park, and Hulu’s 351,000-square-foot lease at the REIT’s Colorado Center. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercilobserver.com.