Public Employee Fund Invests in El Segundo Property
A major public employee pension fund is the latest investor to pump millions of dollars into commercial real estate in booming El Segundo.
Brentwood-based Lowe Enterprises, which is overseeing the pension fund’s investment in the property, wouldn’t disclose the specific client or the price paid for the 12-story Grand Avenue Courtyard at 1960 E. Grand Ave., but other real estate professionals following El Segundo investments said the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System paid more than $50 million for the 97%-leased building.
Tenants of the 13-year-old building, which has 246,600 square feet of office space, include Saatchi & Saatchi’s Team One Advertising group, Air New Zealand, Genuity Solutions, Epson Electronics, Intel, Charles Schwab and the federal government.
Reflecting bullishness about the area’s future, the Grand Avenue Courtyard sale comes on the heels of other high-profile real estate investments in and around El Segundo, as well as ambitious plans for major commercial developments, redevelopments and major property renovations.
Lowe and its client are encouraged by strong demand for space in the El Segundo vicinity, said Lowe’s Rick Newman. Lowe and its client expect to pursue development of an additional three-story, 90,000-square-foot office building on an adjacent surface parking lot.
Kevin Dretzka and Kevin Crummy of Eastdil Realty represented HMS Office in the sales negotiations, and Newman negotiated on the buyer’s behalf. Lowe’s client purchased the tower and adjacent property from a joint venture of Hines and Morgan Stanley Group.
