CONCORD, CA—With a recent purchase marking a second value-add office investment in the last 12 months in the Bay Area, Meridian recently purchased Sutter Square, a 174,689-square-foot nine-story office building. Meridian paid $26.2 million for the 78% leased building located near downtown at 1800 Sutter St. The seller was the Cranbrook Group of Modesto, CA.
“We're excited to continue our expansion into suburban general office which has been underserved by investors,” John Pollock, CEO of Meridian, tells GlobeSt.com. “Especially here in the San Francisco Bay Area, a competitive and highly desirable area, tenants are looking for value while also providing amenities that attract the best available talent. We want to utilize our value-add investment strategy to create attractive well-designed buildings that ultimately give tenants and their employees more options when looking for the perfect space. The purchase of Sutter Square gives us a great opportunity to use our creativity and client-focused real estate strategy to provide value to the developing environment of downtown Concord.”
Sutter Square is a class-A building with views of Concord and Mt. Diablo. In addition, Sutter Square has immediate freeway access, is within walking distance to Todos Santos Square and BART. The building has a large lobby with Italian marble floors, a two-story atrium, an exercise facility with showers and six levels of subterranean parking, GlobeSt.com learns.
“Concord's office market has shown strength recently and Meridian expects it to continue as tenants transition away from more expensive Bay Area markets. Below-market rent and occupancy provided an opportunity for Meridian to purchase this asset as part of our value-add office investment strategy,” said Lorenzo Brooks, Meridian's director of acquisitions. “The property is well located and benefits from proximity to BART as well as new multifamily and retail development that is transforming the community. Meridian completed this deal quickly and efficiently by utilizing the nimbleness of its internal investment committee process and its access to capital. This allowed us to position ourselves as a best-in-class buyer from day one.”
Meridian plans to create additional value by repositioning the property. Given its success on other value-add transactions, Meridian's asset management team is confident it will be able to drive significant property improvements in a short period of time.
The firm will first renovate the common areas of the property. This will include the lobby, hallways, fitness room and conference area. Individual tenant suites will be improved with new carpet, paint, glass wall offices and Title 24 energy-efficient lighting. Building systems will be upgraded and a new roof will also be installed. ADA issues throughout the building will also be addressed.
Meridian was self-represented in the sales transaction. Scott Ellis, senior vice president of Transwestern in Walnut Creek, along with Edward Del Beccaro, senior managing director of the Transwestern Walnut Creek East Bay and Silicon Valley offices, represented Cranbrook Group. Ellis will be handling the leasing of Sutter Square on behalf of Meridian.
“This is a great purchase and timing by Meridian,” Ellis said. “Downtown Concord has evolved into a viable residential, lifestyle and retail environment to complement its existing corporate office base, and the adjacent Concord Naval Weapons development solidifies the future long-term viability of investing in Concord.”
Earlier this year, Meridian purchased a six-story 105,000-square-foot office building in San Mateo County for just shy of $29 million.
“As Meridian ramps up its acquisition efforts in the Bay Area, transactions are expected to become even more frequent,” says Brooks. He noted that Meridian will target tenants looking for transit-oriented office space at an affordable rental rate.
Meridian is a developer that has completed more than 1 million square feet of office and medical office in the past 17 years. It is a division of Marcus & Millichap Company.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.