The 17-acre Mountain View Corporate Center campus is one of only a few large-scale office campuses in the area where employees can walk or bike to Caltrain and retail amenities.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. -- Rockwood Capital has acquired a five-building office campus near downtown Mountain View for a reported $154 million. The 17-acre Mountain View Corporate Center campus is located at 301-381 E. Evelyn Ave. It is one of only a few large-scale office campuses in Silicon Valley where employees can walk or bike to Caltrain and nearby retail amenities. 

The campus was previously occupied by Hewlett-Packard Co., though it is now home to multiple tenants such as Mozilla and Coursera. Like many other Silicon Valley tech campuses, Mountain View Corporate Center provides outdoor amenities like volleyball and basketball courts, along with easy access to nearby trails such as Stevens Creek. 

Rockwood plans to enhance the property over time. This wouldn't be the first time the firm has employed this strategy in Silicon Valley. It has a history of acquiring, repositioning and developing transit-oriented office properties in this area. 

Rockwood transformed the former Mayfield Mall into a 520,000-square-foot office property. It also took 690 E. Middlefield and turned it into a 340,000-square-foot build-to-suit development for Synopsys' global headquarters, among other transactions. 

"A key foundation of our investment strategy is acquiring and enhancing properties in evolving locations which benefit from close proximity to public transit and surrounding mixed-use amenities," says Jason Oberman, Rockwood's director. "This comes from our belief that these well-located properties can help support healthy living, a higher quality of life and environmental sustainability." 

Mountain View Corporate Center's seller, a global investment manager, was represented by Greg Cioth, Andy Zighelboim, Edmund Najera, Nate Jones and Tommy Kim of Eastdil Secured.

The 151-unit condominium project stalled after the entitlement process once the financial crisis hit.

LOS ANGELES -- Trumark Urban has acquired a 151-unit condominium project in downtown Los Angeles' South Park neighborhood for $100 million. The community will be located at the corner of West 11th Street and South Grand Avenue. 

The project was originally entitled in 2007. It stalled during the financial crisis. Trumark plans to complete the design and entitlement processes this year before breaking ground this January. The condos are scheduled to hit the market in 2016. 

This is Trumark Urban's first foray into the Los Angeles market. 

"This building is the right size and location for our entry into the market," says Arden Hearing, the firm's managing director. "Many developers are building rental apartments, which have helped to bring retail services to the area, but the submarket is dramatically lacking new condo inventory for those residents who prefer ownership. In that, we see opportunity."

Trumark Urban is an offshoot of San Francisco Bay Area-based Trumark Cos. The newest iteration now has 10 projects with more than 1,200 residential units in the process between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The total investment value is more than $750 million. 

Trumark Urban is also in the middle of purchasing a second condo development site in downtown Los Angeles. Construction is expected to begin on that project during the third quarter of this year. 

"We have been watching Los Angeles for years, and downtown specifically," continues Hearing. "We see a unique confluence of events that results in a burgeoning urban scene, ready-mixed with jobs and amenities."

SAN FRANCISCO -- CBRE has arranged $86.5 million in acquisition financing for 3175 Hanover St., a 128,678-square-foot office building in San Francisco. The single-tenant building is located within the Stanford Research Park, which is home to companies such as  VMware and Hewlett-Packard. 

The 700-acre Stanford Research Park includes 10 million square feet spread across 160 buildings and facilities. The research park contains more than 23,000 employees at 150 companies, including Tesla, which uses the park for its headquarters and research facility. The park was originally developed by the adjacent Stanford University in 1951. 

The building is fully leased to global law firm Cooley LLP. It was acquired by a Sand Hill Property Co. joint venture. 

John Nelson of CBRE's San Francisco office arranged the non-recourse financing provided by a Wall Street lender. 

"This was one of the most competitive financing situations I have seen in quite some time," says Nelson. "The intense competition among lenders was a direct function of the strong location and tenancy of the prospect, in addition to the excellent sponsorship."

The Menlo Park property underwent a full rebuild in 2012. It is now fully leased to companies like Summit Partners, Optum Soft, Blackstone and Rubicon.

MENLO PARK, CALIF. -- An unnamed buyer has acquired a 41,933-square-foot office property in Menlo Park for $50 million. The Class A property is located at 200 Middlefield Road, near downtown Palo Alto's retail core and the Palo Alto and Menlo Park Caltrain stations. 

The property was originally built in 1967. It underwent a full rebuild in 2012. The building is now fully leased to private equity and technology firms such as Summit Partners, Optum Soft, Blackstone and Rubicon. 

The seller, Menlo Equities, was represented by HFF's Steven Golubchik, Michael Leggett and John Simerlein, who worked in conjunction with Kevin Cunningham of Cornish and Carey. 

"This sale represents a generational opportunity as it is one of the few newly constructed buildings to come to market in the past 15 years in the submarket," says Golubchik. "With a roster of credit tenants, as well as the high-quality reconstruction and finishes completed by Menlo, the property generated substantial interest from numerous domestic and foreign investors."

Simonson

ARLINGTON, VA. -- Total construction spending rose modestly for the third straight month in April as a mix of increases and declines in public and private categories showed the sector's recovery remains fragile and fragmented, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Association officials say the industry could benefit from new federal investments in infrastructure to offset declining public sector demand. 

Construction put in place totaled $954 billion in April, 0.2 percent above the revised February total and 8.6 percent higher than in April 2013. The year-over-year growth so far in 2014 has exceeded the full-year increase of 5 percent recorded from 2012 to 2013. 

Private residential construction spending inched up 0.1 percent in April to a six-year high. The latest total exceeded the year-ago level by 17 percent. Single-family construction rose 1.3 percent in April and 14 percent year-over-year. Multifamily spending soared 4.4 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Improvements to existing single- and multifamily structures slumped 2.2 percent for the month, but increased 17 percent from a year ago. 

Private nonresidential spending dipped 0.1 percent in April, but climbed 5.6 percent over 12 months. Most major categories increased from year-ago levels. However, the largest private segment, power construction - comprising work on oil and gas fields and pipelines as well as electricity projects - slipped 0.6 percent for the month and 3.9 percent over the year. The fastest-growing private type was office construction, which jumped 3.1 percent in April and 26 percent since April 2013. 

Public construction spending rose 0.8 percent for the month and 1.2 percent year-over-year. The largest public segment, highway and street construction, declined 1.1 percent in April but increased 4.9 percent from a year before. The second-biggest category, educational construction, gained 3 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. 

Public investments in highway and street construction will decline significantly unless Congress and the Obama administration act before July to shore up the Federal Highway Trust Fund, says association officials. Current estimates indicate the fund will run out of money by July, likely putting a halt to federal spending on surface transportation projects across the country. 

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