SANTA BARBARA, CA-A landmark retail asset located at 1486 East Valley Rd. in Santa Barbara has changed hands. The asset has been sold for approximately $16 million, or roughly $2500 per square foot.
Built in 1931 and serving as the community's first firehouse, the Spanish Colonial Revival building was designed by architect Alexander Bertrand Harmer and is the most recognizable commercial property in Montecito, according to a prepared statement.
The 6,357-square-foot building is currently occupied by Union Bank through their recent acquisition of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust. SBBT executed a 20-year master lease for the property in 2009, and invested in significant upgrades.
Bill Bauman, executive vice president, Kyle Miller, corporate managing director, and Marc Navarro of Studley's national retail services group represented the seller, 1486 East Valley Road LLC and buyer, US 3N LLC, an international fund with a domestic operating partner, in the transaction.
“Both parties viewed this transaction as an opportunity to realize value. The seller leveraged the lack of quality product in the market and the compression in cap rates to achieve a premium price, and the buyer recognized the advantage of investing in a truly irreplaceable asset, particularly one with a committed long-term tenant,” Miller explains.
“It was a noteworthy first purchase in a market with high barriers to entry,” Bauman says.
According to a prepared statement, this is the second significant single-tenant sale by Studley's national retail services group in the county in the last six months. In December of 2012, Studley sold the Whole Foods on Upper State Street for over $1200 per square foot.
Studley is also currently marketing or in escrow on more than $45 million of retail activity in Santa Barbara with another $25 million coming online in the next 30 days.
“Given the coastal nature, exceptional demographics, and high barriers to entry of Santa Barbara, we anticipate strong investor demand will continue to push pricing in this sub-market,” noted Miller.
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Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
