The Union Bank of California Building, a Beverly Hills office trophy that has not traded hands for more than 40 years, hit the market last month, with bids expected to flood in during coming weeks, The Real Deal has learned.
The 97,000-square-foot building — 24,500-square-feet of which is street-facing retail — has been owned by the limited partnership Beverly Union Company since 1978. The six-story building at 9460-9470 Wilshire Boulevard has 235 parking spaces.
The property, which spans a full block in Beverly Hills’ coveted Golden Triangle, is 91 percent leased, according to marketing materials. Union Bank has been a major tenant since it was built in 1959.
“Needless to say, there is global interest,” said Marc Renard of Cushman & Wakefield, who has the listing along with colleagues Manfred Schaub and Morgan Jackson. “The fact that you can control a full city block is really unique.”
The sale price of the building is expected to exceed $1,200 a square foot, Renard said. That would value the building at over $116 million.
The swanky area, where offices trade infrequently, has recently seen some big-ticket deals. A partnership between Douglas Emmett and Qatar Investment Authority purchased a 10-story office building at 9665 Wilshire in Beverly Hills from Blackstone Group over the summer for roughly $188 million, or $1,100 per square foot.
Retail buildings have seen even higher pricing. In the most extreme example, the former Bijan store at 420 N. Rodeo Drive sold to Louis Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, for $122 million — a record-shattering $19,405 per square foot — last year.