Park Place Tower Could Test Record

In an article from the OCBJ.com, The Michelson, a 19-story Irvine tower considered to be one of Orange County’s premier office buildings, is on the market for sale and could draw a record-breaking price from investors.

New York-based landlord Emmes Group of Cos. has owned the 536,000-square-foot building for about three years and put the tower on the market earlier this month, according to real estate sources.

New York-based brokerage Eastdill Secured, whose local operations are based in The Michelson, has the listing for the building, along with ORION Property Partners, Inc. in Irvine.

The building, located in the Park Place mixed-use campus near John Wayne Airport, is going to market without an asking price, according to marketing materials.

Prominence

A sales price in excess of $200 million looks likely, considering the building’s prominence and tenant base, as well as the prices that institutional investors have paid for other top-tier offices in Irvine over the past two years.

Tenants at the building include Hyundai Capital America, which has its name atop the office; Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.; and law firms Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Greenberg Traurig P.A., Jones Day and Bryan Cave LLP.

Irvine-based LA Fitness International LLC inked a deal to move its headquarters to the building this year, taking 91,000 square feet of space. That brought The Michelson’s occupancy rate to nearly 94%.

How high investors bid up the Michelson remains to be seen. READ MORE….