BentleyForbes shops LA complex

Real Estate Alert, April 21, 2004

BentleyForbes is offering the leasehold interest in a fully occupied office complex in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills.

The 518,000-square-foot property, 21st Century Plaza, could fetch $140 million, or $270/sf. At that price, the buyer's initial annual yield would be less than 8%. CB Richard Ellis has the listing.

The underlying land is owned by principals of Douglas Emmett, the Los Angeles fund operator. They bought the land last year for $18.5 million from Westfield America of Los Angeles. The terms of BentleyForbes' lease could not be learned. It's not known whether Douglas Emmett plans to bid for the complex.

21st Century Insurance, which is primarily owned by AIG, has a lease on 79% of the complex through 2015. Regus Business Centers occupies about 50,000 sf through 2010, and Aetna Life occupies a similar amount of space through 2006. The rent of Regus and Aetna are thought to be about $32/sf. The offering includes a five-level, 1,430-car garage.

The complex consists of two 11-story towers at 63016303 Owensmouth Avenue, ill the Warner Center business park. Tishman and Metropolitan Life developed the first tower in 1980. Tishman bought out MetLife in the mid-1990s. It renovated the first tower in 1999 and built the second one in 2000. BentleyForbes, a Los Angeles concern headed by Fred Wehba, acquired the complex the following year for $120 million, or $232/sf.