Major South Lake Avenue Office Building Complex Faces Foreclosure Auction This Month

Coretrust Capital Partners’ Pasarroyo office building, located at 251 South Lake Ave. in Pasadena, is set to go to a foreclosure auction on December 20, according to a notice of trustee’s sale filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder’s office, according to Bisnow Los Angeles. 

The property, which holds about 600,000 square feet of office and 40,000 square feet of retail space, is being sold to pay debts secured by the deed of trust. The amount of these obligations, which include the loan’s unpaid principal balance and interest, come to $271 million and were due on July 6, according to the Bisnow story by Bianca Barragán.

Pasarroyo is a Class A office campus in the heart of the South Lake Avenue submarket of Pasadena. The project’s four buildings surround a 60,000-square-foot Plaza and constitute the largest office campus in the market1. The buildings were constructed between 1964 and 1982 and vary in height from two to fourteen stories.

The project offers a market-leading 2,000 onsite parking spaces located in a seven-story garage.  Coretrust acquired Pasarroyo in May 2018 for $254 million.

The firm embarked on a comprehensive capital improvement program focused on the central Plaza, main building lobbies, and other front-of-house spaces to complement the project’s advantageous location within the highly-walkable South Lake Avenue Business District. 

Coretrust also planned a modernization of building systems and elevators to improve the occupant experience and sustain the project’s LEED Gold certification.

Pasarroyo’s current tenants include LA Fitness, Urban Plates, and Dunkin’. In addition, Industrious Pasarroyo, a professional office space with conference rooms, is located at 251 South Lake Avenue.

However, Coretrust Capital Partners managing principal John Sischo told Bisnow that the firm tried to refinance the property for about two years to no avail. 

“The capital markets are not in existence to take out a refinance for an office building, no matter how great the property is,” Sischo told Bisnow.

Editor’s Note: This article originally stated that the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector will auction the property for unpaid property taxes but that was not correct. The subject property is not tax defaulted. We apologize for the error.