SAN DIEGO—It's rather uncommon for a developer to buy an asset back decades after building it, but it worked for Murphy Development Co.'s repurchase of San Diego Business Park, for which the company will invest $15 million in upgrades, SVP and director of marketing Andy Irwin tells GlobeSt.com. MDC recently purchased the 542,197-square-foot, two-building office/industrial campus on Otay Mesa from Panasonic Corporation of North America, a property that the company built in 1986 for Sanyo, which was acquired by Panasonic in 2010. In addition to the $28-million purchase price, MDC plans to invest $15 million in upgrades.

Brent Bohlken and Bryan Teel of NGKF represented the seller in the transaction, while and Murphy represented itself. The property, which will be rechristened the Campus at San Diego Business Park, is located at 2001 and 2055 Sanyo Ave.

The buildings are strategically located contiguous to the SR 11 and within a few hundred feet of SR 905, providing excellent freeway identity and access. Panasonic will lease approximately 70% of the 329,000-square-foot 2001 Sanyo Ave. building after MDC completes 42,000 square feet of new improvements. The remaining 94,000 square feet of class-A industrial space in the 2001 building and 209,700 square-feet in the 2055 building will be marketed for lease. The Campus also includes a 7-acre, fully entitled parcel of land, which MDC plans to develop into either a 150,000-square-foot freestanding building or to expand the 2055 building into a 350,000-square-foot building.