Maguire Properties Sells SoCal Tower To Emmes

ALEX VEIGA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Facing mounting debt payments and lagging demand for office space, Maguire Properties Inc. has sold a 19-story office high rise in Southern California to another real estate investment firm for $160 million — a discount of roughly 35 percent.

Maguire, which owns and operates office buildings, sold the 3161 Michelson building in Irvine, Calif., to New York-based Emmes Group of Cos., the companies said Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported the sale on Sunday.

The transaction, which closed Friday, represents a sharp discount from the $245 million the building cost to build, suggested Michael Knott, an analyst with Green Street Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif.

"It's a fair price, but I don't think it's a steal by any means," Knott said Monday. "(The buyers) still have to fill it up and rents are under pressure across the entire market."

The deal reflects the pressure commercial property owners are facing across the U.S. The recession has led to higher office and retail vacancies, sapping owners' lease revenue. And many can't refinance the debt on their properties.