A joint venture between Harbor Associates and Gemdale USA recently acquired an office campus in Agoura Hills, Calif., for a reported $29.7 million. The transaction was carried out off-market, with the seller represented by a team of JLL brokers.

The campus — known as Agoura Hills Business Park — is a low-rise, two-story complex of two office buildings and a central plaza. The acquisition of the 113,991-square-foot property represents a recapitalization move. Harbor Associates initially acquired Agoura Hills Business Park in 2020 alongside a Kansas City-based venture partner that has now fulfilled its business plan. Harbor will now continue as operating partner in the new joint venture.

30501 Agoura Road, one of the buildings of Agoura Hills Business Park

Located at 30401-30501 Agoura Road, the park was initially built in 1987 and underwent cosmetic renovations in 2004. The property features a parking ratio of 3.8 spaces per 1,000 square feet, while also benefiting from its location in western Los Angeles County. Plus, Agoura Hills Business Park also faces Ventura Freeway, thereby simplifying logistics within the Greater Los Angeles Area.

The office campus’ tenant roster includes IBM, financial research service company Informa Research Services, and special education learning platform Amplio. “A portion of the property has been successfully converted into lab space, which plays well into our bullish view on the growing life science demand in this emerging submarket,” said Tim Nguyen, Gemdale’s executive director and head of acquisition.  “Despite the Covid-19 headwinds, Harbor has increased occupancy to 94 percent by attracting the life science groups who have been actively expanding in the Conejo Valley.”

Life sciences is one of the fastest-growing industries nationwide, with the entire Conejo Valley area attracting a variety of life sciences and biotech companies.

Gemdale was recently the subject of another headline with the sale of another Los Angeles office space: The Netflix-leased Hollywood Media Campus was purchased by The Georgetown Co. for $93 million. Lisa Colacurcio, Gemdale’s managing director and head of fund management, said that the company was aiming for value-add commercial properties by converting office spaces into niche spaces in high demand, including life sciences space.