El Segundo and Newport Beach, Calif. – Bixby Land Company, in a venture with Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers acting on behalf of an institutional investor, has sold 2101, a 113,606-square-foot creative office building at 2101 El Segundo Blvd. in El Segundo, Calif. to Bolour Associates. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The sale follows a comprehensive redesign of the entire project that began in 2013. The venture between Bixby and Cornerstone invested approximately $25 million in acquisition, development and leasing costs to reposition the building with a contemporary work environment for today’s progressive companies.
“We set out to transform a 100% vacant building and develop a compelling alternative to the existing inventory of commodity office space in the South Bay,” said Bill Halford, president and CEO of Bixby Land Company.
Bixby fully leased the project in just over one year following the June 2014 completion, demonstrating the strong demand for highly amenitized creative space in the market. Tenants in the building include Sanrio, Exponential Interactive, Cove Street Capital, AMA Consulting Engineers, Specialty’s Café & Bakery and Peet’s Coffee.
The Shubin + Donaldson design features a lobby lounge that welcomes tenants and guests with an ambience more reminiscent of a boutique hotel than an office building. The lobby opens up to an outdoor amenities deck with plush couch seating and a fire table where tenants can gather to collaborate or relax. Polished concrete floors and exposed ceilings throughout the building convey a gritty yet refined atmosphere that is accented with natural materials.
“Bixby has an excellent vision for the space needs and work environment that creative tenants are seeking,” said Bill Bloodgood of CBRE. Bloodgood and Madison Partners’ Tony Ranger and Joe King spearheaded leasing efforts.
“The sale of 2101 represents the culmination of our investment strategy in this asset, and we continue to look for more investment opportunities that provide significant upside in value,” added Halford.
Kevin Shannon and Ken White, previously with CBRE, represented both parties in the transaction.
The sale caps an active year for the Newport Beach developer, both in terms of projects completed and new projects underway. In 2015, Bixby completed Avalon, a vibrant two-story building in Newport Beach that the developer chose for its new corporate headquarters. The firm also completed AERO, an approximately 92,000-square-foot building that formerly served as the San Diego field office for the FBI.
Bixby is nearing completion in the next 30 days on another 550,000 square feet in three California projects, including The Quad at Tasman in Santa Clara, and two projects in Orange County, 26880 Aliso Viejo Parkway in Aliso Viejo and 33.7 North in Tustin.
Pending 2016 developments include Habitat, the inventive redesign of the former Kawasaki USA building in Irvine, and The Oberlin, a three-building project in San Diego. The firm also just purchased Mission Heritage, an approximately 71,000-square-foot building in Mission Viejo.
“We’re committed to an investment and development strategy that adds significant value through the thoughtful redesign of buildings that represent the forefront of contemporary work environments,” added Mike Severson, senior vice president of investments for Bixby. “This is an exciting time in our business as we continue to meet the demands of a dynamic work force.”
