CT Realty Pays Nearly $12M for Office Asset

SAN DIEGO, CA-CT Realty Corp. picked up another commercial real estate asset in San Diego County, shelling out $11.7 million for a three-story office building located in the Sorrento Ridge area of the city.The Newport Beach-based real estate investment and development firm plans to spend an additional $300,000 to renovate the property, with improvements to include new landscaping, HVAC units, exterior paint and ADA upgrades. “We’re repositioning it in the market,” says John Valentine, senior vice president of acquisitions for CT Realty. Company officials expect the rehab project to boost leasing levels at the 103,500-sf building, as it is currently only 50% occupied. Cuso Financial Services is one of the larger tenants here, Valentine tells GlobeSt.com. In addition to its value-add opportunities, the asset also attracted CT Realty as an investment because of its location at the corner of Camino Santa Fe and Trade Street in Sorrento Ridge. “We felt the extension of Camino Santa Fe repositioned this property to orientate it toward the Sorrento Mesa market rather than the Miramar market,” Valentine says. He tells GlobeSt.com that his firm is attracted to the growing Sorrento Mesa market, as well as the entire San Diego region. “San Diego, as a whole, is a market that is strengthening all the time, so we really like that area as far as investment is concerned,” Valentine says. The recently acquired asset stands on a 4.4-acre parcel at 7220 Trade St. It features flexible floor plans, elevator access, and a parking ratio of 3.3 spaces to every 1,000 sf. Marketing and leasing activities here are being handled by Tony Russell, Andrew Ewald and Duncan Dodd of the local office of Grubb & Ellis/BRE.Randy LaChance handled the 7220 Trade St. listing and represented both CT Realty and seller Trade Street Plaza Associates of Laguna Niguel in the recent transaction. Equity for the purchase was provided by CT California Fund IV LLC, together with a limited partner offering. Debt financing was provided by Fremont Investment & Loan.