West Covina, CA – The Lakes, a 174,000-square-foot class A office campus in the city of West Covina, is now 92.5 percent leased upon the recent completion of a five-year 13,000-square-foot expansion and renewal with Wells Fargo as announced by Waterford Property Company (Waterford). Wells Fargo has been a tenant at The Lakes since 1992.
“The Lakes’ success counters what is being reported in the general Los Angeles office market. The property’s suburban location and tenant mix that includes medical office uses has proven to support leasing velocity at a time when many buildings are struggling to find tenant demand,” said John Drachman, co-founder, Waterford Property Company, who adds that this is the highest occupancy at The Lakes since 2007.
Waterford and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (Oaktree) acquired the property in 2020. Waterford then embarked on a repositioning of The Lakes by enhancing common areas while investing capital into move-in ready spec suites. During the COVID shutdowns, Waterford pivoted and began focusing on leasing space within the campus to medical office tenants.
The listing broker, Taylor Ing, senior managing director, Newmark, notes, “Offering move-in ready suites with flexible term and uses has been a differentiator in this submarket.”
The property’s east San Gabriel Valley suburban location supports tenants who are balancing a hybrid work from home model and the medical office uses bring more people to the campus daily who need to be in the office.
“Despite current market challenges, class A projects close to quality amenities in strong suburban locations will do well in the coming years,” added Drachman. “With that said, it means that operators have to be more strategic in how they position each office property and its imperative they take an aggressive day-to-day asset management approach similar to what we have done.”
About Waterford Property Company:
Waterford Property Company is an owner-driven diversified real estate investment and development company whose core mission is to deliver impactful housing solutions. Waterford has a successful track record in land development and entitlements as well as in the acquisition, management, and repositioning of multifamily and commercial properties. Its’ founders, Sean Rawson and John Drachman, have collectively acquired or managed over $2.8 billion in projects throughout California. Waterford prides itself on its ability to develop real estate projects that meet or exceed the needs and desires of all local stakeholders and investors.
About Oaktree:
Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $163 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2022. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented, and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 20 cities worldwide.
