Colliers Wins the Lottery...Or At least The Right to Represent It

Colliers International was awarded a four-year contract to represent the California Lottery in all of its real estate transactions statewide. (No word if they took payment in a lump sum.) The agency is transitioning from occupying leased buildings to ownership.

Yesterday, we asked Colliers SVP Greg Maradei what specific requirements the Lottery has (besides a large drawer for that giant checkbook). It's seeking 200k SF—a figure that's anticipated to grow—of predominantly flex office/industrial buildings and distribution centers over the next four years in LA, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. The Lottery already has a 13k SF building in Santa Fe Springs in escrow and is embarking on its second and third acquisitions. It'd like properties located near Metro and other public transportation, as well as freeways. In addition, the agency likes to have properties with visibility because "It's all about promoting the sale of lottery tickets."

The majority of the buildings are where lucky players go to process their winnings (and do the giant check press conference). The California Lottery owns and occupies a new 155k SF HQ (above) in Sacramento. Colliers' RFP response put together a "very strong" team with experience in all statewide submarkets and multiple disciplines: office, industrial, retail, and investment brokerage. According to Greg, the California Lottery is the state's fastest-growing and most profitable agency. As for why it wants to own now, he notes the California Lottery has security issues, and its buildings boast a lot of technology. Ownership gives it more control.