DTLA’s The Switchyard Trades Hands in $80M Sale

SteelWave has acquired The Switchyard for $80 million from in CEG Construction. The two-building 150,450-square-foot office campus is located in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, located at 500 and 540 S. Santa Fe Avenue. It was developed over the last decade by the seller, and was vacant at the time of the sale.

The sale reflects changing office sentiment in Los Angeles, according to Mike Condon Jr., vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, who calls the sale a “pivotal moment for enthusiasm” and a sign of the market’s recovery. Condon brokered the deal along with Steve Marcussen, Erica Finck, and Bailey Dawson. Cushman & Wakefield’s Pete Collins, Brittany Winn, Scott Menkus, and Alexa Delahooke also worked on the deal, handling leasing, while Rob Rubano, Brian Share, Joseph Lieske, Ernesto Sanchez, Keith Padien, and Greg Napper secured financing on behalf of the buyer.

The DTLA office sector has been an interesting market. Before the pandemic struck, research from the DCBID showed an increase in both office vacancy and class-A office rents, an unusual combination. The rental rate increase was especially noteworthy considering leasing activity clocked in at 3.8 million square feet, while net absorption was negative 4,305 square feet.

The dynamic—rising vacancy along with increased rents—was largely due to new construction office deliveries, and the pipeline has continued to swell even during the pandemic. Los Angeles developer Lowe announced the topping off of 2130 Violet Street, an office building in the Los Angeles Arts District. The development totals nine stories and 113,000 square feet, and it is scheduled to open early next year. The property has a rooftop deck for employees, mountain views, indoor/outdoor workspaces with private terraces and, perhaps most impressively for an office building in the Arts District, onsite parking. The property also has The building also has operable windows, energy efficient systems, including an updated HVAC system.

The Switchyard is also a high-quality asset with ground floor retail space and penthouse units with outdoor space. SteelWave also plans to enhance the property’s amenities package and the building’s exterior through a capital improvement program.