State office buildings find buyer

Here's a little more money for California coffers. A consortium of investment firms are purchasing 24 state office buildings for $2.3 billion. Of that amount, $1.2-billion goes to the state's general fund and 1.09 billion will be used to pay off bonds on the buildings.
Two downtown buildings are included: the Ronald Reagan State Building on Spring Street and the Junipero Serra building on Broadway. As part of the deal, the state leases back the buildings from the new owner for at least 20 years. From the LAT:

The state's broker, CB Richard Ellis, received more than 300 offers to purchase the buildings. The state was able to get high bids because investors are able to borrow money at low rates. The state could also lock in favorable rental rates because the overall office market is soft, broker Kevin Shannon of CB Richard Ellis said. "The proceeds at the sale price of $2.33 billion will far exceed the $660 million originally estimated," Shannon said. "Far from a fire sale, this was a stiff, multiple-offer competition that generated favorable pricing for the state."