KBS and Prime US REIT have partnered on yet another office purchase. KBS assisted Prime US REIT, which trades on the Singapore Exchange, in the purchase of Sorrento Towers in San Diego for $146 million. Shorenstein Properties sold the office building to Prime, and KBS sourced the deal and will serve as the US based asset manager on behalf of Prime.

Sorrento Towers is a 296,327 square-foot class-A office complex in the Sorrento Mesa, a technology and life science hub in San Diego. It has a LEED Gold certification, and at the time of the purchase, the property was 98.2% occupied. It is also near the University of San Diego and other major life science and technology hubs that are attracting companies like Google, Apple and Qualcomm. With increasing demand for life science properties, KBS expects the property to perform well for the foreseeable future.

In fact, KBS notes that San Diego has the highest percentage of patent growth in the country, up 84.4% in the last five years. The growth has made it a target for spin-off tech companies. Supply is also on the investor's side. San Diego recorded a 3.5% reduction in office vacancy from the end of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021 due to the conversion of direct office properties into life science.