CBRE Announces Sale of Baranger Studios Building in South Pasadena, Calif. to Local Investor for $6.8 Million

Historic office property traded hands for the first time in 37 years; received multiple offers

Los Angeles – CBRE announced that Baranger Studios, a historic office property in South Pasadena, Calif., sold to a local investor for $6.8 million. This was the first time in 37 years the building traded hands.

CBRE’s Kyle Barratt and Jackie Benavidez represented the seller, a local family who has owned and operated the building since 1984.

The 13,244 square-foot historic landmark office property, located at 729 Mission Street, is fully occupied by four tenants and sold to a local Pasadena resident. It is located on amenity rich Mission Street, in proximity to the South Pasadena Metro Gold Line Station. The property, originally built in 1925, is comprised of three buildings connected through an open courtyard. The site was designed by architect G.A. Howard and is a one-story brick Gothic Revival corner building originally built for Arch and Hazel Baranger, who operated a wholesale business supplying motion displays to downtown jewelry stores.

“This is a highly desirable, one-of-a-kind historic South Pasadena property, and we received multiple offers during the first week on the market,” said Barratt. “Demand for these types of historic buildings remains high, especially for buyers who seek to eventually occupy for their own use. As rental rates in the market climb, owner-user opportunities continue to increase in desirability among buyers,”

The property sold for $513 per square foot, which is above the average sale price per square foot for office buildings 10,000 SF to 20,000 SF sold in the Pasadena submarket over the past two years.

“With the overall average asking rate at $3.53 per square foot in the Tri-Cities area, tenants are finding that owning versus leasing is much more lucrative,” said Benavidez.