The Highlander Medical Office Building, located at 6137 Watt Ave, faithfully served the community of North Highlands for almost 50 years before succumbing to the pressures of the great recession. Operations for the medical clinic and supportive services endured through the 2001 closure of nearby McClellan Air Force Base (now McClellan Park) and continued facilitating patients until around 2010.
Highlander Building – Former Sacramento Family Medical Clinic (North Highlands, CA)
The +/- 10,300 square foot, single story building offered excellent visibility at the three-way intersection of Watt Ave & Don Julio, but even with traffic counts of 40,000 vehicles per day, prospective buyers/users/tenants eluded the various owners/sellers/landlords for many years.
Click here for related story from the Sacramento Business Journal.
The property was first listed for sale with high vacancy in September 2010 @ $975,000 ($95 psf) to avoid foreclosure, but with low ceilings, numerous small medical offices, and the fact the market was very poor, there were no takers. Market dynamics had shifted dramatically and the building would require a full remodel to accommodate another medical user or alternate commercial purpose. After a year on the market, and having been vandalized due to absentee ownership, the foreclosing lender auctioned the property in August 2011. The building sold a month later with a huge discount for $265,000 ($26 psf) to a Bay Area investor, who then spent approximately $100,000 for a new roof and other exterior improvements, but left the inside untouched. The intent was to allow a new buyer or prospective tenant(s) the opportunity to remodel the interior specific to their own needs.
Unified Protective Services
After waiting for a while, the new owners listed the property for $699,000 ($68 psf) hoping for a quick flip; however, the market was just not ready. Only after two listing agents, 5 1/2 years, and many price reductions, did the property finally sell in March 2016 for $465,000 ($45 psf) to a Southern California based security company. Unified Protective Services, headquartered in Hawthorne, CA, provides security officer services in 13 states with 7 offices in California. Northern California is represented by a San Francisco office and now Sacramento (North Highlands). Unified Protective Services already handles onsite security services for Wal-Mart stores throughout the Sacramento region and will now have a physical office and presence at 6137 Watt Ave.
This portion of Watt Ave has long been regarded as challenging with respect to homelessness and other activities; however, the new security company will certainly be a welcome resource for nearby businesses and residents, including a strip retail building, apartment complex and church, which all border the property on three sides. The fact this property has finally traded hands and will now be occupied after so much time is a testament to Sacramento’s strengthening economy that continues to rebound.
Unified Protective Services won’t use the entire building for its own operation and will be looking to identify new commercial tenants to share the space right away. JACKS Commercial Real Estate represented the seller for the sale transaction and will facilitate leasing for the new owner/operator as well. Please contact Brian Jacks @ (916) 837-3456 to request information.
Article contributed by Brian Jacks
Brian Jacks is a Sacramento commercial real estate broker (since 1996), specializing in commercial leasing and investment sale transactions for retail, office, industrial, multifamily, mixed-use, and special purpose properties. Having spent over 20 years with Wells Fargo, he personally facilitated the underwriting, approval and funding of more than 225 commercial real estate loans totaling over $1 billion in proceeds. Jacks is the Principal Broker for JACKS Commercial Real Estate, which serves the Sacramento market for commercial sales and leasing of all property types. For more information, contact Brian Jacks:
Brian Jacks | Principal Broker | (916) 837-3456
Brian@JacksCRE.com | BRE Broker Lic. #01217349
No Comments
Be the first to start a conversation