Equity Office Acquires Office Tower for Nearly $71M

LA JOLLA, CA-Chicago-based Equity Office Properties Trust has acquired La Jolla Executive Tower, a 227,570-sf class A building for $70.5 million from US Property Fund GmbH & Co. KG. The property is located in Regents Park, a 27-acre, mixed-use development in the city’s North University submarket. The 15-story class A office tower is currently 75.5% leased and counts GMAC Mortgage and First National Bank among its major tenants. “We continue to redeploy our capital into select growth markets where we believe we can offer unique advantages to our customers,” says Richard Kincaid, Equity Office’s president and chief executive officer. With this acquisition, EOP owns 18 buildings totaling more than 2.5 million sf in the metro market. The company also closed recent deals in Austin, TX and Philadelphia. Equity acquired Westech 360, a four-building, 178,777-sf office complex in Austin for $28.6 million. In addition, Equity sold a majority interest in the 1601 and 1700 Market St. buildings in Philadelphia for $172.2 million, to Transwestern Investment Co. (For more on EOP’s transactions, click here .)

Built in 1990, La Jolla Executive Tower received the 2001 and 2002 BOMA San Diego Office Building of the Year Award. The property’s features include 32 private balconies offering views of a courtyard area with a water fountain as well as having a fitness center with shower and locker facilities. The 16,400-sf floor plates can accommodate both single and multiple tenants, according to a report by Burnham Real Estate, which has marketed the property. The property also has a five-level parking structure with 756 spaces. The news of Equity’s La Jolla buy comes on the heels of another major acquisition in the San Diego market, The Irvine Co.’s recent buy of Wells Fargo Plaza. As reported earlier this month on Globest.com, Newport Beach-based The Irvine Co. purchased the property from the California State Teachers Retirement System for $148 million.Overall, the San Diego area office market is on the rebound according to a report released by Burnham Real Estate Services. It claims that San Diego County’s office vacancy rate of 12% could drop as low as 10% by year-end as expected absorptions take place. Those are the lowest figures in the areas since 2001.