Manchester Financial Group Acquires Iconic 12-Story Office Tower In Hillcrest
Local developer Doug Manchester, chairman of Manchester Financial Group and former San Diego Union-Tribune publisher, has acquired the 13-story Fifth Avenue Financial Center at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Laurel Street in Bankers Hill/Park West from the Casey Brown Co for $71.5M. The building was purchased by Casey Brown in 2014 for $39.3M, according to CoStar.
Brown had begun renovating this iconic building, built in 1965, and Manchester plans to finish the job over the next year, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The 168k SF office building features views of San Diego Bay and Balboa Park. Manchester last year sold the SDUT building in Mission Valley to Casey Brown, and SDUT relocated to 600 B St earlier this year. Manchester plans to relocate his company’s headquarters here from the former SDG&E building at 101 Ash St by Dec. 1.
Building owner Sandory Shapery had sold a 49% interest in 101 Ash St to Manchester, but Cisterra Development has acquired the 314,545 SF building for $72.5M. Cisterra has signed an agreement to lease it to the city for 20 years. Sempra Energy, SDG&E’s corporate partner, moved last year to its new HQ near Petco Park. [SDUT]
CORRECTION, JAN. 20, 8:10 P.M. PT: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the neighborhood where Fifth Avenue Financial Center is located. The article has been updated.
