Normandy Real Estate Partners finishes a $355-million recapitalization with plans to buy more California property.
One of the country’s largest office landlords has completed a $355-million recapitalization of its Universal City office building and said it intends to buy more property in Southern California. Normandy Real Estate Partners owns 10 Universal City Plaza, the tallest building in the San Fernando Valley at 36 stories, in which NBCUniversal is the largest tenant.
Morristown, N.J.-based Normandy became the owner of the tower in mid-2009 when the previous owner defaulted on debt owed to Normandy. With more debt coming due, Normandy recapitalized in part through a newly formed joint venture with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, which provided $138 million of debt and equity.
The 774,240-square-foot 10 Universal City Plaza is Normandy’s only building in Southern California, but the company is looking to acquire more, Managing Principal Jeffrey Gronning said. “We are big believers in investing on the coasts,” he said.
Property prices in Southern California have dropped significantly from their last peak, creating opportunity to buy buildings and improve them.
Normandy manages more than 15 million square feet of commercial property, mostly in the Northeast between Boston and Washington.
NBCUniversal last September agreed to renew its lease and expand in 10 Universal City Plaza.
That 10-year commitment helped Normandy secure financing for the recapitalization, Gronning said.