San Felipe Investors owned 2101 Mountain Road, a 16,000± square foot Class A office building in Old Town/Museum District of Albuquerque. San Felipe Investors was comprised of principals of a local architecture firm which occupied a portion of the building. As many of the partners were at or approaching retirement, they decided to divest of their real estate holdings. They hired REA | Real Estate Advisors to assist them in the disposition of 2101 Mountain Road.

Challenge

When 2101 Mountain Road was originally purchased in 2004, the architecture firm only needed about half the building for their use; however, they anticipated growth into the balance of the building. In the meantime, they leased the vacant space to strategic partners. However, due to the economic recession they never experienced their projected growth. Their tenants were also affected by the recession and relocated to smaller less expensive options.

Due to the ownership structure, there was a conflict of interest between the partners of the building and the principals of the firm. In consulting with the ownership we determined the best course of action to maximize the value of 2101 Mountain Road was to secure a long term lease with a third party tenant for the unoccupied premises, restructure the lease with the architecture firm and dispose of the asset.

Solutions

REA | Real Estate Advisors was able to secure a 10-year lease with a financially strong tenant and restructure a market lease for the architecture firm. Upon completion of the improvements for the new tenant, the building was marketed for sale locally and nationally. Upon receiving several offers, an out of state investor was selected and the building was sold.

REA | Real Estate Advisors understood the needs of San Felipe Investors and expertly utilized their local market knowledge, contacts and ability to market on a national platform to maximize the client’s goal.
After the sale was closed the rental rates were increased and REA was able to successfully fully lease the building to 100%.

Results

REA | Real Estate Advisors achieved a sale price and equity distribution for the partners that exceeded their expectations.

The REA team added real value by marketing and leasing the underutilized space in the building to a financially strong tenant which created interest from local and national investors. REA’s platform resulted in a sales price which exceeded the client’s expectations.