Newmark Arranges Sale of 292,540 Square Foot Office-to-Apartment Conversion Property in Los Angeles

April 10, 2023 9:00 AM

Newmark[1] announces that it has arranged the sale of Topaz Tower Apartments, a 12-story, 292,540-square-foot trophy office tower fully entitled for adaptive reuse to a Class A, high-rise apartment project. The property is located within an opportunity zone in Downtown San Pedro, California.

Newmark Co-Head, U.S. Capital Markets Kevin Shannon, Executive Managing Director Ken White, Senior Managing Directors Chris Benton and Scott Schumacher and Managing Director Anthony Muhlstein represented the sellers, Harbor Associates and Platform Ventures, in the transaction to buyer Urban Stearns.

“Harbor Associates and Platform Ventures executed a fantastic business plan to entitle an existing office building for adaptive reuse in Downtown San Pedro, creating much needed housing for the area,” said Benton.

Shannon added, “Adaptive reuse of office to multifamily, mixed-use or industrial will become increasingly common given the sector headwinds.”

The existing office building’s physical attributes, including ample on-site parking, 13’-6’’ ceiling heights and rooftop space, position it for a seamless adaptive reuse execution to a multifamily property. The new project will include 228 studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments with views of the Pacific Ocean, balconies in 70% of the units and a rooftop amenity deck with a resort-style pool.

“While outstanding office buildings in thriving employment hubs will continue to flourish, we are hopeful the city will continue collaborative efforts with developers to convert challenged office properties to much needed housing,” said Muhlstein. “A successful plan acknowledging retrofit and budget challenges will effectively create meaningful rental supply for Angelenos to enjoy a higher standard of living.”

Topaz Tower Apartments is located just one block from the ocean and two blocks from the West Harbor mega-project, a 42-acre waterfront development that will reimagine the retail, entertainment and dining scene in the San Pedro and Long Beach areas. Centrally located between Los Angeles and Orange County, the property is highly accessible via the Metro Blue Line and the 710, 405 and 110 freeways.

Though down from pre-pandemic levels, Los Angeles was the second leading market for volume of office investment sales, trailing only Manhattan, New York. According to Newmark’s 4Q22 Capital Markets Report, sales overall declined year-over-year across property sectors. There were small seasonal increases in December 2022 deal closings, except for multifamily.

About Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries (“Newmark”), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle. Newmark’s comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, and startups to blue-chip companies. Combining the platform’s global reach with market intelligence in both established and emerging property markets, Newmark provides superior service to clients across the industry spectrum. Newmark generated revenues of approximately $2.7 billion for the year ending December 31, 2022. Newmark’s company-owned offices, together with its business partners, operate from approximately 180 offices with nearly 6,700 professionals around the world. To learn more, visit nmrk.com or follow @newmark.

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[1] Dba Newmark Knight Frank in California