Civic Center LLC Buys Santa Ana Office Tower

The 11-story Civic Center Office Plaza in Santa Ana, which is occupied by law firms, the U.S. attorney’s district office and several other government agencies, has been sold for $12.5 million. The building, which is 75% leased, was purchased by Civic Center LLC of Los Angeles from FJS Inc., according to a brokerage official who represented the buyer and seller. Lease rates in the area run about $1.25 per square foot, far below the countywide average, which is luring price-conscious investors. Santa Ana has been designated an “empowerment zone,” which could bring in millions of dollars to redevelop the city’s aging core. “The Santa Ana office market has a tremendous amount of appeal to entrepreneurial-type investors,” said Rob Mitchell, vice president of Voit Commercial Brokerage, who handled the deal.