5 Bay Area suburban office buildings change hands in $1.1B portfolio deal

A $1.1 billion suburban office building portfolio sale announced Monday morning includes five Bay Area properties comprising nearly 500,000 square feet, a bet that the suburbs will come back stronger than central business districts.

Workspace Property Trust, a privately held real estate company, joined forces with sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd. of Singapore to buy 53 buildings with nearly 8 million square feet.

The seller, Griffin Realty Trust Inc., will retain a minority stake in the buildings. The deal, financed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of Montreal, closed Friday.

The acquisition, which will double Florida-based Workspace’s portfolio to 18 million square feet, includes buildings in Atlanta and Dallas in addition to the Bay Area, according to the Wall Street Journal. Workspace CEO Thomas Rizkco told the Journal the company believes the pandemic hastened a shift to suburban office.

In the Bay Area, the properties include:

• 1 Circle Star Way, San Carlos: 103,948 square feet
• 2 Circle Star Way, San Carlos: 103,948 square feet
• 880 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose: 83,841 square feet
• 3001 Orchard Pkwy., San Jose: 97,957 square feet
• 401 Lennon Lane, Walnut Creek: 85,512 square feet