PUBLICATION: RE BUSINESS ONLINE

CBRE has secured $145 million in refinancing for Glendale Plaza, a recently renovated, Class A office tower in Glendale. Located at 655 N. Central Ave., the 24-story, 542,000-square-foot tower was originally constructed in 1999 and is currently 77 percent leased to a mix of media companies, blue-chip financial services firms and law firms. The property includes an adjacent eight-level parking structure.

Brad Zampa, Michael Walker and Greg Grant of CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance group represented the borrower and building owner, DivcoWest, in the financing. The five-year, floating-rate loan was secured through a multinational investment banking company.

DivcoWest acquired Glendale Plaza in 2017 and has invested more than $17 million into building upgrades, including the addition of an indoor/outdoor experience, common areas, event and conference space for tenants, a fitness area and modernization of the restrooms. The company is also planning to add a restaurant and café to the asset. READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: THE REGISTRY

San Francisco-based investment firm DivcoWest is continuing to buy properties across the Bay Area, most recently closing on the acquisition of several apartment assets in Berkeley. According to The Mercury News, DivcoWest purchased three properties from The Green Cos., based in Portland, Oreg., for a combined $102 million.

In the largest deal, Stadium Place was acquired for $42.8 million, or about $321,800 per unit. The 133-unit  complex is located at 2130 Fulton Street.

Telegraph Gardens, at 3001 Telegraph Ave., totals 38 units. The property was purchased for $31 million or about $815,800 per unit. Public records show that The Green Cos. originally paid $25.38 million, or about $667,895 per unit, for the asset in 2019.

Lastly, Allston Place sold for $28.2 million, or about $470,000 per unit. The property totals 60 units and was originally constructed in 2002. The complex is located at 2161 Allston Way. Records show that it last traded in November of 2016 for $22.39 million… READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: THE REAL DEAL SAN FRANCISCO 

DivcoWest, which bought a South San Francisco office building for a life science conversion, bought more than 200 residential units in three apartment complexes in Berkeley.

The company, acting through three separate affiliates, bought Stadium Place, Telegraph Gardens and Allston Place for a total of $102 million, the Mercury News reported.

The purchase of those apartments reflects a trend of investors buying multifamily residential properties in markets with slower growth, like Berkeley. Since the city isn’t in the midst of a housing boom, DivcoWest and other investors won’t face increased competition from new housing projects. That means the company can take the time needed to renovate the apartments to make them more attractive to potential residents.

The Stadium Place property, which is located at 2310 Fulton Street, consists of 133 units with rents ranging from $2,300-$6,000 per month. The purchase price of $42.8 million comes out to about $321,800 per unit.

The 38-unit Telegraph Gardens, which is located at 3001 Telegraph Avenue, cost DivcoWest $31 million, or $815,800 per unit. The complex, which was built in 2013, rents units for $3,250-$4,450 per month. READ MORE…

PUBLICATION: THE MERCURY NEWS

PUBLICATION: BUSINESS JOURNAL SAN FRANCISCO

Call it a sign of the times: A South San Francisco building that formerly housed several divisions of Johnson & Johnson employees is slated for conversion into Class A lab space.

San Francisco investor DivcoWest acquired the 143,383-square-foot office and R&D building from Johnson & Johnson for $164.5 million, or about $1,147 a square foot, on Jan. 7, the company said in a statement. It intends to immediately begin work to convert the property for lab use.

The Business Times reported in March last year that Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) planned to close the facility, located at 5000 Shoreline Court in South San Francisco. J&J acquired the building in 2017 as part of its acquisition of Actelion.

DivcoWest will outfit the building with a new generator system, a lab-quality HVAC system as well as utility upgrades and updates to common areas, the company said in its statement. It will begin work on the property without a tenant in hand, though it expects the building could be ready for tenant occupancy as early as the first quarter of next year. It did not disclose the cost of the planned renovation work.

The buy represents DivcoWest’s second life science grab in the last few weeks: The company acquired a 99,000-square-foot single-story research building at 6550 Dumbarton Circle in Fremont in mid-December 2021, the company confirmed. Property records show DivcoWest paid $72 million for the property.

The company’s website shows it already owns a number of life science properties in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, submarket, another of the country’s biotech hubs. DivcoWest is actively expanding its life science portfolio in the Bay Area, the company said in its statement…READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL 

Months of speculation have come to an end as California-based Meta platforms Inc. – the parent company of Facebook – recently leased the entire commercial half of Sixth and Guadalupe, the 66-story high-rise under construction downtown that will be Austin’s tallest building when finished. The social media company has also pledged hundreds more jobs in Texas capital…READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: THE REAL DEAL SF

Company is second Redwood City business to lease part of same San Jose campus in past year

PUBLICATION: THE MERCURY NEWS

PUBLICATION: DIGITAL JOURNAL

MeetElise, known best for their conversational multifamily leasing assistant, announced $23.5m in Series B funding today. Navitas Capital and JLL Spark co-led the round with participation from AvalonBay Communities, Equity Residential, Cushman and Wakefield, Moving Capital, DivcoWest, RMS Investment Group, and a host of other strategic partners. The Series B funding will drive a wave of growth through continued hiring, product expansion, and penetration into adjacent verticals. With this latest round of financing, MeetElise has raised a total of $32m, solidifying its position as a market leader.

Founded in 2017 by two software engineers, Minna Song and Tony Stoyanov, MeetElise has grown into the industry-leading solution for multifamily renter owners and operators. Serving 650K+ units across the US, MeetElise works with SMBs and large property management firms, such as Greystar, Lincoln Property Company, and Buzzuto Management. Customers point to tangible improvements in business metrics, including tour conversion rates, time savings, efficiency gains, and prospective renter satisfaction. Renters enjoy conversing with ‘Elise’ so much that they have even asked her out on dates or sent her gift cards for her hard work with helping them…READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: JDSUPRA