Irvine Unit of Pacific Telesis Buys Historic L.A. Building for $80 Million : REAL ESTATE

PacTel Properties in Irvine, a unit of Pacific Telesis, said it bought the historic Pacific Mutual Building in downtown Los Angeles for more than $80 million.

The seller was Copley-Pacific Associates Ltd., a partnership of Westgroup Partners and Copley Real Estate Advisors.

Westgroup will continue to manage and lease the property, which includes a 12-story office tower, a six-story office building and a four-story office building with a total of 570,000 square feet.

The buildings were constructed between 1908 and 1926 as the headquarters for Pacific Mutual after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed the insurance company’s old headquarters.

The buildings are 86% leased because space is cheaper in the older buildings in the area, PacTel said. Average vacancy rates in the area around the buildings at 6th Street and Grand Avenue are about 20%, PacTel said.