September 6, 2017 – Divco West Real Estate Services, LLC (“DivcoWest”), a privately-owned real estate investment firm headquartered in San Francisco, has held its final close on DivcoWest Fund V (“Fund V” or the “Fund”), its fifth commingled value-add investment fund. Exceeding its US$1.5 billion target, Fund V’s commitments total approximately US$1.585 billion, making it DivcoWest’s largest fund to date with approximately 80% of the commitments from existing investors. DivcoWest’s prior fund closed in 2014 with US$976 million of total commitments and has to date returned over 130% of invested capital.

Stuart Shiff, DivcoWest’s founder and Chief Executive Officer commented: “We are truly grateful to our investors who have entrusted us with their partnership in this next venture. We are pleased to have 25% of Fund V already designated to what we believe is an attractive group of investments. We look forward to continuing the creation and management of a dynamic and disciplined portfolio of real estate and real estate related investments for our investors.”

The Fund’s investors represent a diverse group of more than 40 institutional investors, including domestic and foreign public and private pension funds, financial institutions, endowments and high net worth individuals.

With over twenty years of real estate investment and asset management experience in innovation markets, DivcoWest has established strong tenant relationships among some of the largest innovation firms. DivcoWest seeks to add value through a combination of capital investment, repositioning, redevelopment and leasing, as well as by leveraging its vertically-integrated platform and experience through multiple market cycles.

In common with DivcoWest’s four prior funds, Fund V will primarily invest in office and R&D properties located in select innovation markets characterized by strong education, employment, amenities and transportation systems with high barriers to entry including but not limited to the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, MA, Southern California, Washington, DC, New York, NY, Seattle, WA and Austin, TX.

DivcoWest engaged Greenhill & Co. as the global placement agent and Goodwin Procter LLP represented DivcoWest as fund counsel in the establishment of Fund V.

SAN MATEO, CALIF. – April 24, 2017 –DivcoWest has completed the purchase of 101 S. Ellsworth, a Class A office building viewed as a best in class asset in the heart of a supply constrained downtown San Mateo market.

Situated just one block from downtown San Mateo’s Caltrain station, the 88,000 square foot, six-story building sits in a walkable neighborhood surrounded by many retail and restaurant amenities. Close proximity to Caltrain service and easy access to several freeways puts employees of tenants in the building just 25 minutes from San Francisco and residential locations throughout Silicon Valley.

101 S. Ellsworth has averaged 99 percent occupancy over the last 10 years and is one of only five Class A office buildings in San Mateo’s downtown core offering more than 80,000 s.f. of space.

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – March 16, 2017 –DivcoWest has completed the purchase of 2 West Santa Clara, a historic office building in the heart of downtown San Jose. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is part of a joint venture with an investment group led by Gary Dillabough.

Built in 1910 and extensively renovated within the last few years, 2 West Santa Clara is one of the first examples of steel-framed office construction in California and was originally the home of First National Bank. More recently, the building was the headquarters of Bank of the West and, later, lumber company Pacific States Industries.

The 83,896 square foot property was expanded in 1927 with the addition of a nine-story annex. The proposed business plan will include a full rehabilitation to provide smaller tenants the unique opportunity to have a full floor presence with four side window lines and excellent views.

The building sits at the corner of West Santa Clara and North First streets, located on one of San Jose’s busiest thoroughfares, just five blocks east of the Guadalupe Freeway (SR-87) and adjacent to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Santa Clara Station. This major light rail transfer point is served by 16 VTA bus routes as well as the Highway 17 Express bus from Santa Cruz. Additionally, the Property is situated proximate to the entrance of the future Downtown San Jose BART station, positioning 2 West Santa Clara as one of the closest office towers to the BART.

Ritchie Commercial represented the Buyer and the Seller in the transaction.

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – March 01, 2017 –DivcoWest has completed the purchases of Glendale Plaza, a 547,300 square foot Class A office tower at 655 North Central Avenue in Glendale, in addition to a condominium interest in The Telephone Building, a Class A creative office, telecom and retail building at 1314 7th Street in downtown Santa Monica.

The two acquisitions expand DivcoWest’s already significant footprint in the Los Angeles market, which currently includes Continental Grand Plaza, a 482,000 s.f. office complex in El Segundo and Water’s Edge, a 6.5 acre creative campus in Playa Vista.

Both Glendale Plaza and The Telephone Building are regarded as best in class for their respective submarkets, being well located in proximity to both amenities and transportation.

Glendale Plaza is predominantly leased to entertainment and financial-services firms and within walking distance of more than 3,500 new apartment units as well as two of greater Los Angeles’ best retail malls: Americana at Brand and the newly renovated Glendale Galleria. A LEED-Platinum certified property, Glendale Plaza is a 20-minute drive away from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and features sweeping views of downtown Glendale and the San Gabriel mountains.

The Telephone Building is fully renovated and leased to tenants that include one of Southern California’s premier venture capital firms and two renowned restaurants – Cassia and Ester’s Wine Shop and Bar. The building is within walking distance of Santa Monica’s new Metro Expo train station, the Third Street Promenade and many high-end businesses, restaurants and retailers.

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. – March 1, 2017 –DivcoWest has completed the purchase a condominium interest in The Telephone Building, a Class A creative office, telecom and retail building at 1314 7th Street in downtown Santa Monica.

“The Telephone Building is an irreplaceable top grade commercial asset in a severely supply-constrained submarket of Los Angeles. It has superb access to transit and other crucial amenities that employers look for to attract and retain talent,” said Michael Provost, Managing Director of DivcoWest.

The acquisition expands DivcoWest’s already significant footprint in the Los Angeles market, which currently includes Continental Grand Plaza, a 482,000 s.f. office complex in El Segundo and Water’s Edge, a 6.5 acre creative campus in Playa Vista.

The Telephone Building underwent a full renovation in 2014 to bring it to a best-in-class, Class A creative office standard. The building is leased to tenants that include one of Southern California’s premier venture capital firms and two renowned restaurants – Cassia and Ester’s Wine Shop and Bar.

The building is within walking distance of Santa Monica’s new Metro Expo train station, the Third Street Promenade and many high-end businesses, restaurants and retailers.

GLENDALE, CALIF. – March 1, 2017 –DivcoWest has completed the purchase of Glendale Plaza, a 547,300 square foot Class A office tower at 655 North Central Avenue in Glendale.

This is the company’s second purchase in the Los Angeles area this week and increases its existing portfolio to over one million square feet of best-in-class office space in the Los Angeles area. Earlier this week, the company closed on the acquisition of The Telephone Building, a unique and well-located creative office and retail property in Santa Monica.

Situated next to Highway 134 and close to I-5 and US 101, the building is just minutes from downtown Los Angeles and includes eight levels of parking. It also sits within walking distance of more than 3,500 new apartment units as well as two of greater Los Angeles’ best retail malls: Americana at Brand and the newly renovated Glendale Galleria. Glendale Plaza is a 20-minute drive from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

“Developers like Rick Caruso have created a powerful sense of place in Glendale with visionary retail and residential developments like Americana at Brand. We like what we see in terms of the creation of a live-work-play environment of the sort that companies crave in order to attract and retain talent today,” said Michael Provost, Managing Director of DivcoWest.

DivcoWest plans to invest additional capital in the asset by upgrading common areas including the lobby and creating a ‘tenant experience area’.

Glendale office rents currently sit at a relative discount to neighboring submarkets but the emergence of new residential and retail amenities is likely to result in future upward movement in office rents.