A private investor purchased the property from 2 North Lake JV, which is a private family owner. Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s Mike Condon Jr., Erica Finck, Bailey Dawson and Marc Renard represented the seller in the transaction. Cushman & Wakefield’s Shaun Stiles, Steven Marcussen and Katie Cowan advised as well and are the leasing agents for the property.
The buildings, located at the intersection of North Lake Avenue and East Colorado Boulevard, total 242,012 square feet.
The portfolio consists of an 11-story building at 2 N. Lake Ave. built in 1985, a three-story building at 911 E. Colorado Blvd. built in 1926 and a one-story building at 902 Boston Court built in 1900.
The 11-story building has an exterior private patio and a rooftop helipad.
The three properties were 63% leased at the time of the sale.
“This portfolio is positioned in an incomparable location at historic ground zero of Lake and Colorado in Pasadena’s central business district, walkable to many amenities plus easy freeway access,” Condon said in a statement.
“Furthermore, the portfolio’s 2 N. Lake is the only building in Pasadena featuring numerous outdoor decks plus smaller private balconies — it also has an outdoor park area. Each of these characteristics remain in high demand by occupiers in today’s market where fresh air is more sought after,” he added.
The buyer is planning to renovate the property’s lobbies, reactivate the outdoor areas, and upgrade the interiors and exteriors, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
“This portfolio sale of the high-vacancy value-add office portfolio is another indicator that the office market recovery is in full effect, and investment is being recalibrated back into this sector,” Condon said in a statement.
“2 N Lake Avenue represents one of the few remaining reposition opportunities (value-add) in one of L.A.’s strongest submarkets and that also boasts some of Southern California’s best demographics and leasing fundamentals,” he added.
The Pasadena office market had a vacancy rate of 17.3% during the second quarter, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. That’s lower than the county average of 18.5%. Nearly 530,000 square feet of office space was under construction in the city during the quarter, according to JLL.
“The sale of 2 N Lake is a testament to the outstanding long-term viability of the Pasadena office market and office product as a top asset class overall. It is also proof that capital continues to view office as an important and accretive component of their overall portfolio. We expect to see greater acceleration in office investment over the coming months,” Finck said in a statement.
