Snap Inc., the company behind disappearing messaging app Snapchat, is in the process of leaving Venice and so is one of the company's landlords.
CBRE is listing a 10-building, 22,195 SF mixed-use portfolio with Snap as a tenant for sale for $79.5M in Venice.
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The buildings sit along Venice’s famed boardwalk at 511, 517, 523 and 601 Ocean Front Walk. It is the largest portfolio of contiguous properties ever available on Venice Beach, CBRE real estate analyst Sean Heitzler said in an email.
Heitzler did not disclose the name of the owner or the company selling the property.
Heitzler said Snap leases two of the four oceanfront properties, the Blu House at 523 Ocean Front Walk and Gingerbread Court at 517 Ocean Front Walk.
The sale of the buildings comes as Snap, which moved into the Silicon Beach area in 2013 and quickly gobbled up office space as it grew, has already put 163K SF of office space in the area up for sublease as it moves its Venice Beach headquarters to Blackstone Group’s Santa Monica Business Park.
The CBRE email sale flyer was sent out April 19. CBRE officials call the Venice investment an opportunity to own 22,195 SF of rentable building area and an additional 19K SF of oceanfront parking that is ripe for development with an active coastal commission permit.
Heitzler said ideally, Snap would remain as a tenant at the Blu House.
“The Blu House was Snapchat’s first location, they have invested a great deal of time and money into the property as it has sentimental value to the founders who indicated they would like to keep it forever,” Heitzler wrote.
He said with the Gingerbread Court, Snap would like to negotiate an early termination or sublease agreement.
Heitzler said before Snap leased Gingerbread Court, the building was a mix of retail, takeout food and offices.
“With Snapchat's willingness to sublease, or vacate the Gingerbread Court, and because of its mixed use capability and charming courtyard design, there is a golden opportunity for a new owner to repurpose the property into a boutique hotel, lease it to [a] single user as a mini campus, lease it to multiple retail, food and office tenants, or convert it to residential use,” he wrote.
Heitzler said Venice Beach office property continues to be in demand and will always remain a popular tourist destination.
“There has never been a better time to sell this portfolio to an investor or developer who is looking for an A+ location, immediate income, upside in the existing rents and a development opportunity,” he wrote.
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