Brokers didn’t hesitate to assume that the firm was in a desperate position and would be open to sales offers.
The firm owns more than 1.1 million square feet of “Class A” office space in the downtown area, according to records from CoStar, a commercial real estate information firm. Its stake in the Glendale office market accounts for nearly one-sixth of rentable office space, according to research from real estate firm Grubb & Ellis. But that may not be the case for long, if Maguire’s fortunes don’t change soon, brokers said.
“It’s kind of common knowledge that the company has some cash-flow issues and that they’re selling those properties [in Los Angeles and Orange County] to raise cash,” said Mark Miller, a vice president at Stevenson Real Estate services in Glendale. “If it continues, these properties [in Glendale] could definitely become available.”
The company’s assets would likely be attractive to prospective buyers, but vacancy rates that are expected to balloon past the current average of 17.2% in Glendale could complicate pricing, Miller said.
Whether or not Maguire is willing to competitively price its assets will likely depend on its financial condition, he said.
“It depends on their situation and their need for cash,” he said.
Some buyers have already made offers for Maguire’s Glendale properties — 207 Goode Ave., 700 N. Central Ave., 611 N. Brand Blvd., 701 N. Brand Blvd., and 801 N. Brand Blvd., which some consider to be “the best office building on the market,” said Bill Boyd, a senior managing director for the Charles Dunn Company, the largest commercial real estate firm in Glendale. Occupancy rates in the Maguire buildings are high, compared with other buildings, indicating that they may be more lucrative for buyers, Boyd said.
“They are better off than some of the other Glendale office buildings,” he said.
Offers for the assets have been refused so far, he said.
