It is the tallest building in the waterfront and boasts some of the area’s best ocean views. The former Bekins Moving & Storage building is also the prize in one of the most noteworthy sales on the Central Coast in decades.
Radius Commercial Real Estate & Investments announced the purchase of 25 E. Mason St., now the corporate R&D headquarters of wifi sound system giant Sonos, who occupies the entire building and holds a 10-year lease on the property.
The sale of the iconic Funk Zone building, listed at $21.5 million, marks the largest transaction involving office/R&D property in Santa Barbara since 2007 when the El Paseo building at 820 State St. changed hands for more than $25 million.
Austin Herlihy and Steve Brown of Radius represented the buyer in the all-cash exchange deal. Studley Retail out of Los Angeles was the listing company.
“As we saw with the Marshalls Building last November, investment properties in Santa Barbara continue to be the most coveted opportunities on the Central Coast,” said Herlihy.
“I have been bullish on this property for the past three years. I’m not sure any property in Santa Barbara has as much development upside and location upside.”
According to Herlihy, while there are several key features which made the property an extremely attractive investment opportunity, high on the list is its location directly adjacent to the up-and-coming Entrada Hotel project on State Street which sold in 2011 and is scheduled to commence construction in June. He and Brown were also a part of that deal.
“To purchase one of a handful of waterfront properties with ocean views in Santa Barbara, for about $400 per square foot, 100% leased for 10 years to one of Santa Barbara’s best tenants, and right next to the Entrada, one of the market’s most anticipated developments in recent years, is in my mind an incredible opportunity if not a steal,” he said.