Local SoCal Developer Pays $32M for Office-to-Resi Conversion

In the spirit of Southern California office trends, a local developer has acquired an office complex just east of Los Angeles to redevelop into multifamily housing.

An limited liability company affiliated with Brea, Calif.-based Dwight Manley bought the 164,908-square-foot complex and accompanying three-story parking garage from Mercury Insurance for $31.5 million. Manley has filed plans to convert the property, which totals 9.7 acres at 1698-1700 Greenbriar Lane in Brea, into 180 residential units, according to Kennedy Wilson Brokerage, which announced the deal.

Kennedy Wilson’s Gary Goodgame and Max Browne, along with Corporate Realty Associates’ Jeremy Dee, represented the seller in the deal. It was not immediately clear who represented Manley. The deal is the largest commercial real estate sale of the year so far in the small Orange County community, according to Kennedy Wilson, citing data from CoStar. 

Goodgame said Mercury decided to sell the “underutilized” asset to a developer who would convert it into housing.

Representatives for Manley did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Mercury Insurance was not immediately available for comment. 

Although Manley’s plans for the complex are poised as a redevelopment, office-to-residential conversion efforts in Southern California are picking up steam as the region continues to face exorbitant vacancy rates. 

Take the three-story building at 4750 Wilshire Boulevard in L.A.’s Mid-Wilshire neighborhood, which owner Creative Media & Community Trust recently partially converted into 68 luxury apartments. Or there’s the project to convert a roughly 65,000-square-foot office building in Torrance into 272 units.

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