Ascentris Acquires Tri-Center Plaza; 65% Leased Suburban Office Property in Los Angeles, CA
Denver, CO (December 22, 2017) – Ascentris, a Denver-based real estate private equity firm, on behalf of one of its public retirement system clients, announced today the acquisition of Tri-Center Plaza, a 143,000 square-foot, multi-tenant office property in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Monday Properties, a real estate owner, operator, and developer, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, sourced and assisted Ascentris in the acquisition of the property. Monday Properties will serve as the asset manager and will oversee the management and leasing of the property.
Tri-Center Plaza, built in 1990, is located at 5990 Sepulveda Boulevard in the Central San Fernando Valley submarket, one of the most centrally located submarkets in Los Angeles. The property is less than twenty minutes from most of Los Angeles’ office submarkets, including Westside, Downtown, Tri-Cities, Santa Clarita, Conejo, and Simi Valley. The property’s location at the intersection of Highway 101 and the 405 Freeway make the building a convenient commute for the extensive labor pool that lives in the San Fernando Valley and benefits from an above-market 3.5 per thousand square feet parking ratio. Tri-Center Plaza is well positioned to offer attractive and flexible space options to tenants looking for 2,500 square feet to 25,000 square feet at a price point that is a 20%-25% discount to its direct competition and a 50% discount to other submarkets that are only 15-20 minutes away.
The overall Los Angeles suburban office market is poised to capture significant rent growth over the next five years. Los Angeles experienced rent growth of approximately 4% in 2017, which compares favorably to the national average of 1.5%; moreover, the Los Angeles suburban office market is projected to experience rent growth of 3.4% per year for the next five years, as compared to a national average of 2.3%. With no available land parcels entitled for office development and limited supply projected to be delivered in the next five years in the Central San Fernando Valley micro-market, Ascentris believes Tri-Center Plaza is well positioned to capture a meaningful portion of the projected rent growth.
Ascentris’ business plan includes implementing a strategic renovation program and an aggressive leasing strategy in order to stabilize the property. Planned renovations include upgrading the exterior, improving the amenities and wayfinding, and modernizing the common areas of the property. Ascentris has engaged Matt Heyn and Caitlin Hoffman of CBRE to lease the property and Davis Partners to serve as the on-site property manager.
“This investment is consistent with what Ascentris currently finds attractive,” said Bobby Ghiselli, Managing Director at Ascentris. “We are actively acquiring high-quality, well-located suburban office properties because we believe the sector is still early in its cyclical recovery, particularly in markets with structurally high population and employment densities. Ascentris is excited to have the opportunity to work with such a high caliber team including Monday Properties, CBRE and Davis Partners and we look forward to implementing the investment’s business plan,” said Ghiselli.
“In sourcing this deal off market, we are delighted in getting this acquisition completed”, said Monday Properties Managing Partner Phil Cyburt. “We are confident this will be a great investment for Ascentris and our team looks forward to assisting in executing our business plan in what is becoming the tightest tenant leased submarket in Los Angeles.”
Brad Zampa, Sean Sullivan, Michael Longo, and Megan Woodring of CBRE provided capital market advisory services in procuring both equity and debt.
About Monday Properties
Monday Properties is a dynamic real estate investment firm that operates each property within its portfolio. Founded in 1998, the company is an owner, operator and developer of real estate with a primary focus on supplied constrained markets and value add real estate opportunities in growth markets. Since 2002, Monday Properties has completed over $13 billion in over 60 separate transactions, representing 28 million square feet. Monday Properties coinvests its own capital alongside its partners and investors, creating a clear alignment of interest and an incentive to realize value.