Rockwood Capital has sold the high-end furniture shopping center SoCo in Costa Mesa for $110 million.
The price for South Coast Collection was reported by a news division of Newport Beach-based Green Street.
The buyer was Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp.
“South Coast Collection is the only shopping venue of its kind in an extensive, high net worth trade area,” stated Josh Dinstein, a senior vice president at CRC. “The asset’s institutional quality and strong value-add potential, plus its location in the heart of Orange County, make SoCo the perfect acquisition for our entry into the southern California marketplace.”
The 292,000-square-foot retail center sits on 20 acres not far from IKEA and the new Anduril headquarters in the previous LA Times printing plant. The shopping center is known for its high-end home furnishing brands and the dining hub known as The Mix.
Tenants at 3303-3323 Hyland Ave. include COCO Republic, Design Within Reach, Roche Bobois, Pirch and Paul Mitchell the School, Natuzzi Italia and Room & Board. Restaurants include Arc Food and Libations, Butcher’s House, Greenleaf Kitchen & Cocktails, Moulin, Paragon and Portola Coffee.
In 2015, the White Plains, New York-based Rockwood bought the 405 freeway-adjacent property from Burnham Ward Properties for $120 million . Joel Mayer, a managing director at Rockwood, said at the time that the firm was looking forward “to enhancing the property to create an environment that is among the preeminent lifestyle centers in Southern California.”
Burnham USA Equities, a sister company to the developer of the property, Burnham Ward Properties, was managing the center for Rockwood and also will run it for the new owner.
Eastdil Secured LLC represented Rockwood Capital in the sale.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the seller of SoCo.
More small apartments trade hands
The investor thirst for small apartment complexes continues in Orange County.
In recent weeks, a beach-adjacent building with eight apartments in Laguna Beach sold for $3.075 million or $384,375 per studio unit, according to CBRE.
The 66-year-old apartment building at 525 Catalina is a few blocks from Laguna’s Main Beach and downtown village. Built in 1957, the two-story, 3,388-square-foot complex is made up of eight studio units.
CBRE said it was the first time the property has been available for sale in “over five decades.”
To the north in Garden Grove, CBRE also sold a 10-unit property at 11821 Stuart Drive for $2.875 million or $287,500 per unit.
It was another first-time sale for the property since it was built back in 1958.
The two-story, 8,601-square-foot building completed in 1958 has a mix of three one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom units. The building comes with a community pool, on-site laundry and garage parking.
The previous owner had recently completed improvements to the property that included new paint, a new sprinkler system, updated gas lines and new garage doors.
The new owner could increase rents by 25% for “an approximate cap rate of 6.25% through a renovation plan.” said Andrew Boukather, a senior associate at CBRE.
The CBRE team represented the unidentified seller and buyer, both of whom live in Orange County.
Buchanan breaks into Northern California with storage buy
Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners recently bought a self-storage facility in Auburn for $21 million.
The 116,500-square-foot facility includes 825 self-storage units and 40 RV parking spaces.
The purchase marked the fourth self-storage property Buchanan has bought in California in recent years.
“The Auburn transaction represented a unique opportunity for us to acquire a high-quality stabilized self-storage property near replacement cost and with plenty of upside potential through professional third-party property management,” said Feerooz Yacoobi, a vice president at the firm. “I’m excited for Buchanan Street to break into the northern California market.”
On the move
Donald “Don” Kennedy is the president of the American Land Title Association for the 2023-2024 year. He is a Santa Ana local and the managing director for First American Title Insurance Co.’s Agency Division. Kennedy is a third-generation ALTA president, following his father’s, Parker S. Kennedy, presidency in 1993-1994 and his grandfather’s, Donald P. Kennedy, presidency in 1983-1984.
Newport Beach-based The Saywitz Co. has made two new hires. Ariana Bolin is the new director of support services, assisting executives as well as marketing, communications and back-office operations. Sabrina O’Brien is working in client relations, helping the company’s commercial and multifamily management operations.
Milestones
MVE + Partners, an architecture, planning, and interior firm based in Irvine, received three awards from the American Institute of Architects from both the Orange County (AIAOC) and Utah chapters for its work on three different projects.
Those projects included the Mandarin Oriental Residences in Beverly Hills (Best Multifamily Mixed-Use Development), and Silo Park and Post District Residences in Salt Lake City (Best Multifamily Mixed-Use Development and Merit Award, respectively).
The awards come as the firm approaches its 50th anniversary in 2024.
Real estate transactions, leases and new projects, industry hires, new ventures and upcoming events are compiled from press releases by contributing writer Karen Levin. Submit items and high-resolution photos via email to Business Editor Samantha Gowen at sgowen@scng.com. Please allow at least a week for publication. All items are subject to editing for clarity and length.
