Family Trust Acquires Escondido Office Asset

ESCONDIDO, CA-An Escondido office complex occupied by Wells Fargo Bank and the Escondido Union School District has been acquired by a family trust, which has shelled out $5.4 million for the 29,474-sf complex that was built in the 1970s. The asset, known as Wells Fargo Bank Complex, has only 900 sf currently vacant, with Wells Fargo Bank occupying 26,174 sf in the complex’s main building and the Escondido Union School District occupying a 2,400-sf, freestanding facility that is also located on the property, according to Jay Alexander of Colliers International, who worked on the deal. However, many potential buyers were discouraged by the fact that main tenant Wells Fargo only has two years left on its lease and has not yet indicated whether or not it will renew here. “A lot of people didn’t want to buy it (the property), unless they could get Wells Fargo to commit for a longer term,” Alexander tells GlobeSt.com. “And we couldn’t make that a contingency because Wells Fargo wasn’t going to give anybody a commitment, one way or the other.” Having listed the asset on the market this past November, Linmar LLC finally found a buyer in Lin Family Trust, which “realized the underlying value of the asset, whether or not Wells Fargo stays,” Alexander says.Located at 442-470 S. Escondido Blvd., Wells Fargo Bank Complex is located on a 2.8-acre parcel that is zoned for urban, mixed-use development. The size of the property and its development possibilities are two of the asset’s most attractive attributes, as Alexander explains. “Downtown Escondido has really been taking off lately and this (parcel) is a full city block, which is very difficult to assemble” Alexander tells GlobeSt.com. “So, it had a certain intrinsic value that the buyer recognized.” In addition, the zoning will allow for denser office development, as well as multifamily or retail uses. “There are a number of strategies that you could do with the property that probably would make it more valuable than it is as an office building.”Alexander, along with Ryan Grove of Colliers International and Joe McDermott of Coldwell Banker Commercial, acted on behalf of the Lin Family Trust in the recent transaction. Linmar LLC was represented by Ken Gotthelf of Colliers International.