WALNUT CREEK — A restaurant and retail complex in downtown Walnut Creek has been bought in a deal that shows investors still thirst for commercial properties in prime locations.
Midtown Plaza, a complex at a high-profile downtown site, has been bought by an affiliate whose controlling entity is the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, according to documents on file with Contra Costa County and the state of California.
The buyer, in separate transactions, paid a combined $16.1 million for Midtown Plaza, as well as two adjacent properties, grant deeds filed on July 25 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office show.
The Colorado employee pension group paid $12.35 million for Midtown Plaza, which has addresses ranging from 1410 through 1444 North California Boulevard.
In a separate transaction, also on July 25, the Colorado pension association paid another $3.75 million for adjacent properties at 1620 through 1628 Cypress Street.
Nearon Enterprises, a real estate investment firm that had owned the Walnut Creek sites for a number of years, sold the various properties to the Denver-based Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, county documents show. Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors, which helps big institutions find properties to purchase, was also involved in the deal, according to the deeds.
The Midtown Plaza building totals 27,800 square feet, according to a post on the Nearon website. The sizes of the two adjacent and much smaller buildings weren’t immediately available.
The deal suggests the property value for the just-sold Midtown Plaza site appears to be on the rise.
At the end of June 2023, the site on North California Boulevard had an assessed value of $8.6 million. That means the recent purchase price was about 44% above the assessed value.
The two adjacent smaller properties on Cypress Street had a combined assessed value of $3.9 million, which means the price for the small sites was 3.8% below the assessed value.
This also means that the combined price for all the properties was 29% higher than the overall assessed value for the sites.
Plenty of evidence has arisen that shows an array of commercial properties have suffered flat or declining values in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Office buildings, hotel properties and numerous retail sites are among the types of real estate assets that have struggled to retain their value. More than a few of these properties have gone into foreclosure.
In a high-profile failure, Westfield San Francisco Centre is being given back to its lender after owner Unibail Rodamco Westfield halted making mortgage payments on the property.
The downtown Walnut Creek deal involving Midtown Plaza shows that some retail and restaurant sites still can attract well-heeled investors.
Plus, with the iconic Broadway Plaza commercial complex as its principal anchor, downtown Walnut Creek is often considered one of the Bay Area’s top shopping and dining hubs.