Temecula Creek Plaza, a 69,000-square-foot retail center, has sold to a private investor on behalf of the property’s receivership. Robert Griffith, senior vice president of financial services asset management at Grubb & Ellis Co., who represents the property’s special servicer, JER Special Servicing, throughout Southern California, assisted the investment team in the transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed. Located at 31021 – 31141 Temecula Pkwy. in Temecula, CA, Temecula Creek Plaza was 68% leased at the time of the sale and anchored by CVS Pharmacy and Guaranty Bank. Built in 2007, the property is located within close proximity to Temecula Creek Inn Golf Resort. William Meinhold of Swoboda Hospitality Specialists represented the buyer in the transaction.

San Francisco

Lowe Enterprises has signed agreements with new tenant SolarCity and expanding tenant Akamai Technologies Inc. for a total of 85,390 square feet in Clearview Business Park in San Mateo, CA. SolarCity has signed a 6.5-year lease to occupy an entire building at Clearview, totaling just over 68,000 square feet. Akamai Technologies currently occupies a 67,000-square-foot building at Clearview and has committed to an eight-year lease of an additional 17,364 square feet. This is Akamai’s second expansion at Clearview. “Clearview’s excellent location, financial stability, and recent upgrades position the property well to benefit from the steady improvement in the market,” says Mike Sanford, senior vice president of Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group. “The flexibility of the space was attractive to SolarCity as it meets the company’s current needs and offers options for future expansion, as has been the case with Akamai’s growth over the last few years at Clearview.” Clearview Business Park is centrally located between the San Francisco and San Jose International Airports. The 270,000-square-foot campus is comprised of six buildings ranging from 38,000 square feet to 68,000 square feet with flexible building configurations to accommodate large single users or multiple mid-size tenants. Clearview Business Park offers an attractive business environment with beautifully landscaped outdoor gathering areas and expansive bay and mountain views. Lowe Enterprises acquired the former San Mateo Executive Park in May 2007 in partnership with O’Connor Capital Partners; Transwestern Investment Co. later joined the ownership group. A $20-million program was completed by the owners to modernize the campus to class A standards. The renovations included significant work on exterior finishes, altering roofs to improve views and increase natural light, and a major upgrade of all building systems. The lobbies and elevators were refurbished with high quality stone and wood finishes along with new building entrances, including more glass line. Cushman & Wakefield represented SolarCity and Akamai. Cassidy Turley BT Commercial represented Lowe, O’Connor and Transwestern.

The San Francisco office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP has closed the sale of Kifer Tech Center, a two-building, 103,254-square-foot, class A office/R&D campus in Sunnyvale, CA. The HFF investment sales team was led by senior managing directors Michael Leggett and Gerry Rohm and associate director Chris Pawlik. TA Associates purchased the property for an undisclosed amount. Kifer Tech Center is fully leased to tenants including Motorola Inc., Siemens Corp. and Trident Microsystems. Situated on nearly six acres at the intersection of Lawrence Expressway and Kifer Rd., the property has easy access to Interstates 280 and 880, Highway 101 and Routes 237 and 82 in Silicon Valley. The property is also within 300 feet of a Caltrain station, which provides access to San Francisco and San Jose. “Kifer Tech Center is a premier corporate destination and continues to outperform the market as evidenced by more than 80,000 square feet of net leasing activity during the past 12 months,” says Leggett.

Denver

Stoneridge Capital Partners, a Newport Beach, CA-based real estate investment company, has acquired two Holiday Inn hotels near the Denver International Airport. The acquisition of the 161-room Holiday Inn & Suites and 139-room Holiday Inn Express marks the firm’s entry into the Denver hospitality market. “Both hotels benefit from a high volume of business and leisure travel through the fifth-busiest airport in the nation,” says Greg Merage, CEO of Stoneridge Capital Partners. “This acquisition places us in one of Denver’s strongest submarkets and positions us for continued growth as we seek out additional high-quality hospitality assets with significant upside operating potential in the Denver metropolitan area.” Completed in 2009, the Holiday Inn & Suites at 6900 Tower Rd. and Holiday Inn Express at 6910 Tower Rd. offer a range of amenities, including a restaurant and bar, fitness centers, meeting rooms and business services. Denver-based Stonebridge Realty Advisors Inc., which operates a portfolio of approximately 50 hotels, principally in the Western US, will manage the assets. This represents Stoneridge’s second hotel acquisition within the past year following the acquisition of the 119-room Hotel Highland in Phoenix in March, 2010. According to Merage, the firm will continue to pursue hotel investments within the Denver market, in addition to multi-family, office and retail opportunities. With this purchase, Stoneridge has completed more than $185 million in acquisitions since 2009 through an active expansion of its real estate portfolio in California, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Hawaii and Denver. Further details could not be disclosed at this time.

Las Vegas

Mike Mixer, managing partner of Colliers International-Las Vegas, recently introduced Colliers Assets Resolutions, a division specializing in restoring and enhancing the value of under and non-performing assets. Mixer says the team was assembled as a direct response to a growing need for asset management within the local commercial real estate and financial industries. The division is led by Christopher LoBello, a 15-year commercial real estate veteran. “In this dynamic economic climate, it is crucial to reposition distressed assets to maximize value,” Mixer says. “An integrated approach is key to stabilizing a property.” Colliers Asset Resolutions can help maximize the value of bank and special servicer-owned assets, including office, industrial, retail, hotel, multi-family, land and fractured condominium projects. The team specializes in disposition, leasing, sales, marketing, and management of renovation or construction completion. Services include court-appointed receivership, non-judicial monitoring, blanket receiverships for community associations, support services for existing receivers, comprehensive asset management, stabilization and maximization of cash flow, property risk assessment and mitigation. LoBello says using the right team and resources is a critical step in enhancing the value of commercial real estate. “By utilizing existing relationships and building strategic alliances, we are able to identify solutions that otherwise might be missed,” he says. “As we work through these complex issues, having the ability to reach out to key players in banks and special servicers is a huge benefit.” LoBello has lived in Las Vegas for nearly 40 years and has been involved in multiple facets of commercial real estate for 15 years. In addition to LoBello’s wealth of real estate experience, he also holds a law degree and worked in local law firms for several years before becoming a real estate broker. LoBello’s background gives him a comprehensive understanding of the complex legal facets of the receivership process and qualifies him to provide expert receivership advice. LoBello credits depth of experience and market knowledge for the division’s success in resolving asset challenges. He notes the team’s decades of experience in managing complex, capital-intensive projects, but he says it is the diversity of the team members’ previous professional roles that produces their unique and valuable perspectives. Prior to the formation of the Asset Resolution team, the team members served as receivers, asset managers and principals in the acquisition and repositioning of distressed and under-utilized real estate.