Irvine Co. sells downtown Pasadena office building at discount

"Irvine Company sold an office building located in downtown Pasadena to East West Bank for about $98 million, records reveal. That's a steep decline from its $144 million purchase price in 2012. The deal for the five-story, 270,000-square foot property called Western Asset Plaza came out to about $360 per square foot."

"It's the latest selloff by the Irvine Company in markets outside its home base of Orange County, where most of its about 129 million square feet of office buildings, apartment communities, retail centers and more are located. In late October last year, the company sold its last downtown San Diego office tower after a year-long, discounted selling spree unusual for the commercial giant owned by the country's richest developer."

"The bank co-owns its nearby headquarters and told CoStar the purchase provides flexibility for future expansion. Irvine Co. purchased the Pasadena office building in 2012 from Centurion Real Estate Partners, and its co-founder Jeffrey Worthe, now president of Worthe Real Estate group, signed the deed."

Irvine Company, owned by Donald Bren, sold Western Asset Plaza, a five-story, 270,000-square-foot office building in downtown Pasadena, to East West Bank for approximately $98 million. The sale price of $360 per square foot represents a significant decline from the company's $144 million purchase price in 2012. East West Bank stated the acquisition provides flexibility for future expansion near its existing headquarters. This transaction continues Irvine Company's pattern of divesting properties outside Orange County, following the October sale of One American Plaza in San Diego for $120 million, down from a $300 million purchase price nearly two decades earlier. The company retains substantial real estate holdings in Southern California and potentially Chicago.

Read at therealdeal.com