In Slight Deviation For CRE Investor, Onni Group Buys Burbank Town Center For $136M
Known for its glitzy Downtown LA residential projects, Canadian developer Onni Group has made a notable retail investment in Los Angeles.
The firm recently shelled out $136M for Burbank Town Center, the Commercial Observer reported, a roughly 1M SF shopping complex on Magnolia Boulevard that first opened in the 1990s.
This would be the first exclusively retail property for Onni in Los Angeles, according to the developer's website.
The property underwent a $60M renovation in 2018 that included a new dining terrace and indoor food court, additional entrances and seating areas, and electric car chargers. The mall struggled with daytime foot traffic prior to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Burbank Leader.
Newmark represented the seller, Barings. Property records show shopping center ownership was also linked to Cypress Equities, according to Commercial Observer. The deal works out to about $136 per square foot.
It is not yet clear what the sale means for a potential redevelopment of the site; the center's prior owners were planning to add a hotel and hundreds of residential units to a portion of the mall that once held an Ikea store. That parcel was not included in the sale, according to a representative from Burbank Town Center.
A representative for Onni declined to comment on the sale or about a potential redevelopment of the property. Onni is redeveloping the Los Angeles Times complex in Downtown LA into a pair of new residential towers and repurposed office and retail space.
Newmark Vice Chairman Bill Bauman, who worked on the sale, told Bisnow that the mall is on a very long-term ground lease, hence the low per-square-foot price.
Burbank is a very strong retail market overall, thanks to its dense daytime and residential population, Bauman wrote in an email. The area is also a media hot spot, and vacancy in its media district is among the lowest of office markets in the LA area.
The center's sale trails the $76M deal for the 466K SF Eagle Rock Plaza mall in Northeast LA, which traded over the summer, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.
