WALNUT CREEK — A restaurant and retail complex in downtown Walnut Creek has been acquired in a deal that demonstrates investors’ continued interest in commercial properties in prime locations.
The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, through an affiliate, has purchased Midtown Plaza, a complex located in a prominent downtown area, according to documents filed with Contra Costa County and the state of California.
According to grant deeds filed on July 25 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office, the buyer paid a total of $16.1 million for Midtown Plaza and two adjacent properties in separate transactions.
The Colorado employee pension group paid $12.35 million for Midtown Plaza, which encompasses addresses from 1410 to 1444 North California Boulevard.
In a separate transaction on the same day, the Colorado pension association also paid $3.75 million for properties located at 1620 to 1628 Cypress Street.
County documents show that Nearon Enterprises, a real estate investment firm that had owned the Walnut Creek sites for several years, sold the properties to the Denver-based Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association. The transaction also involved Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors, which assists large institutions in finding properties to acquire.
According to a post on the Nearon website, the Midtown Plaza building has a total area of 27,800 square feet. The sizes of the two adjacent and smaller buildings were not immediately available.
The deal indicates that the property value for Midtown Plaza, which was just sold, appears to be increasing.
At the end of June 2023, the assessed value of the site on North California Boulevard was $8.6 million. This means that the recent purchase price is approximately 44% higher than the assessed value.
The two smaller properties on Cypress Street had a combined assessed value of $3.9 million, indicating that the price for these sites is 3.8% below the assessed value.
Moreover, the combined price for all the properties is 29% higher than the overall assessed value for the sites.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that a variety of commercial properties have seen stagnant or declining values due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Office buildings, hotel properties, and numerous retail sites are among the types of real estate assets that have struggled to maintain their value. Many of these properties have even gone into foreclosure.
One high-profile example is the Westfield San Francisco Centre, which is being returned to its lender after owner Unibail Rodamco Westfield ceased making mortgage payments on the property.
The acquisition of Midtown Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek indicates that some retail and restaurant sites can still attract well-funded investors.
In addition, with the iconic Broadway Plaza commercial complex as its main anchor, downtown Walnut Creek is often regarded as one of the top shopping and dining destinations in the Bay Area.