Prudential Real Estate Investors acquired One Pacific Plaza in Huntington Beach from Lincoln Property Co and partner GEM Realty Capital for over $93M. Once distressed, it’s back to Class-A, say the sellers, who were repped by Eastdil Secured in the deal. (It's a rags-to-Class-A story, and we're writing a movie script about it.)

One Pacific Plaza is a three‐building property that includes a 12‐story main tower and two six‐story mid‐rise buildings, for a total of 384k SF. Lincoln and GEM acquired it in late 2011 through a receivership sale and proceeded to revitalize the buildings, including lobbies, elevators, and other common areas. Over the last three years, occupancy has grown from 60% to over 80%, including 120k SF new and expansion leases. (The lunch room is a lot more crowded.) Lincoln SVP Kevin Hayes explains that three years ago, the location was solid, but the asset wasn’t. The restoration of its Class-A status came in time to enjoy increased demand for Class-A space in OC.

LEASING

New tenants inked leases at 2 Journey Medical Plaza in Aliso Viejo. They include Dr. Tim Miller, Dr Manish Marolia, Jeff Turner DDS, Physiotherapy Associates, Aliso Kids Dental and Orthodontics, and Awesome Smiles General Dentistry & Orthodontics. The property was recently developed by ACS Development Group, which was repped in the leases by Lee & Associates.

SALES

RLJ Lodging acquired the 293-room Embassy Suites Irvine Orange County in Irvine, along with a hotel in Portland, Ore, for a combined $120M, at a cap rate of 7.4%, in an off-market deal. The property is about a mile from John Wayne Airport, and according to the buyers will benefit from a stable supply of corporate demand, with about 22M SF of office space and 24M SF of industrial space in close proximity.

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Preservation Partners Development III and Cornucopia Services acquired Huntington Villa Yorba Apartments in Huntington Beach for more than $47M. Located at 16000 Villa Yorba Lane, the 1971-vintage property includes 198 units in 16 two- and three-story buildings. The site is also zoned for another 94 units. The property was acquired and will be renovated through the use of LIHTC equity (4%) and tax-exempt bonds, and the buyers were able to extend the Section 8, Project-Based HAP Contract covering 192 of the 198 units for 20 years.

CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Great Wolf Lodge broke ground on Great Wolf Lodge Southern California in Garden Grove. The property, which will include a 100k SF indoor waterpark, will be the first of the brand in California. The property is owned by a JV joint venture between affiliates of McWhinney and Great Wolf Resorts.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

CW Driver promoted Karl Kreutziger to president of Driver SPG, the company’s Anaheim-based construction affiliate that focuses on renovation, modernization, and smaller new construction projects. The 27-year industry vet will lead project teams in the preconstruction and planning phases, as well as oversee client relations in his new role.

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Grandbridge Real Estate Capital hired John Houten as a VP. John, a commercial real estate mortgage originator, will be based at Grandbridge’s OC office in Newport Beach. Previously he was an EVP at Sunwest Bank in Irvine, where he established the bank’s integrated real estate loan origination platform.