Southern California real estate giant Irvine Company has sold two of its downtown San Diego office towers for a fraction of what it paid for the buildings 20 years ago. In late 2024, the privately held, Orange County-based real estate company found separate buyers for the 40- and 50-year-old buildings on Broadway near Horton Plaza that the firm previously said it planned to sell. On Nov. 27, Sacramento-based real estate company Saca Development purchased the 452,436 square-foot office building at 101 W. Broadway for $43.9 million in cash, property records show. On Dec. 31, Santa Monica-based commercial real estate operator XYZ.rent purchased the 363,102 square-foot office building at 225 Broadway for $48 million in cash. The $91.9 million total of the transactions is around 35% of the $265 million Irvine Company paid for the Broadway buildings in 2005. “Following a competitive process that involved a number of potential buyers, we are pleased that Saca Development has purchased 101 W. Broadway and Daniel Negari (XYZ.rent, LLC) has purchased 225 Broadway,” Eastdil Secured Managing Director Adam Edwards, who represented the seller, said in a statement to the Union-Tribune. Both buyers will continue operating the properties as office buildings. “As a family-owned and operated company with decades of experience, Saca Development is proud to continue their legacy of strategic investments in high-quality properties,” Saca Development Partner Payton Saca said. “The addition of this office tower underscores their confidence in the long-term growth and vitality of downtown San Diego as well as their belief in the continued demand for premium commercial spaces in the city’s core.” The 225 Broadway buyer expressed similar confidence in the downtown market, which has struggled with high vacancy rates in recent years. 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My vision is large, and it may take a few years to realize, but bear with me, it will be amazing.” Built in 1984, the 20-story office tower at 101 W. Broadway, which is just west of the historic Spreckels Building, includes office space and ground-floor retail space. It was 77% leased at the time of its sale. The building’s largest tenant is Morgan Stanley, which occupies around 30,000 square feet of space, or one full floor and one half floor. Chipotle is on the ground floor. Saca Development, which owns and operates a mix of office, retail and residential properties in California and Nevada, was attracted to the building because of its location, Saca said. The firm plans to make improvements to common areas and amenities, and expects to grow tenancy with law firms, given the building’s proximity to the downtown courthouse. The 22-story office tower a block away at 225 Broadway was built in 1974 and sits next to the former Horton Plaza mall that is being refashioned as an office-and-retail campus. The building is 84% leased and its largest tenants include Federal Defenders of San Diego, a federal public defense organization, and the law firm Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP. The entities each lease around 16,000 square feet of space, or one full floor. Panera Bread and Dunkin are located on the ground floor. Negari, who described 225 Broadway as the best building in San Diego, plans to embrace the tower’s history as he looks toward the future. “When I first encountered 225 Broadway, I fell in love with it immediately,” Negari said. “The mid-century modern design by Robert Mosher, who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, captured my imagination. I knew I had to have this property, and I pursued it aggressively, paying substantially more than my competition because opportunities like this are truly once in a generation.” The building owner said he is partnered with San Diego developer Dennis Cruzan on operations. Negari also pointed to his purchase of several parcels along Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade in June as evidence of his ability to immediately boost tenancy. The promenade storefronts were 55% leased at the time XYZ bought the parcels, but are now 88% leased, he said. Irvine Company, which is the region’s largest office landlord and has a reputation for holding onto its properties, sold the downtown towers as part of a shift in focus to University City. The city’s recently approved community plan for the area has created legal space for more than 30,000 additional residential units. In September, the developer sold Symphony Towers at 750 B St. for $45.7 million.