FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Jo Clare Sullivan 858/259-5452
Barbara Kocmur 858/481-5693
JANEZ ANNOUNCES THE RECAPITALIZATION OF SUMMIT BUSINESS CENTRE
San Diego, CA (March 1, 2006) - San Diego-based Janez Development announced today that it
has completed the recapitalization of Summit Business Centre, a 138,500 square-foot multi-tenant
office park in Riverside, Calif. Janez has entered into a new joint venture with Buchanan Street
Partners, a real estate investment firm based in Newport Beach, Calif., with a total capitalization
of approximately $20 million, including $16 million of new debt.
An affiliate of San Diego-based Janez Group (Iowa Holdings, LLC) acquired the office park for $10.9
million in March 2004 in a joint venture with an undisclosed financial partner. The 19-year-old
business park includes five single-story office/R&D buildings and was less than 60 percent leased
when Janez initially acquired the property. Janez subsequently renovated the property, making
capital improvements that resulted in increased occupancy, higher rental rates and enhanced property
value.
"We believe this recapitalization reflects our knowledge and expertise in the acquisition, management,
financing and repositioning of strategic value-added real estate assets," said Janez President
John Kocmur. "Our strategy in recapitalizing Summit Business Centre was to lock-in appreciation to
date in order to achieve significant returns for our original equity partner."
According to Janez Senior Vice President Jeff Zuckerman, Summit Business Centre will continue to
generate strong returns and represents an attractive investment. "We believe there is additional
upside available through lease-up to stabilization and rolling rents to market," explained Zuckerman.
"We will also complete a subdivision of the five buildings and evaluate the market appetite for
individual sales."
This transaction represents the fifth time Buchanan Street has advised Janez on a debt placement and
marks the second equity investment Buchanan has completed with Janez. Chris Dornin and Steve Blue led
the debt and equity respectively on behalf of Buchanan. "Buchanan Street's ability to leverage its
very unique platform - which provides both debt placement and principal equity investment - was a
real value-add to us," added Zuckerman.
Summit Business Centre is centrally located in the Hunter Industrial Park with convenient access to
the 215, 60 and 91 freeways. As a region, the Inland Empire continues to add jobs faster than any
other region in California. Vacancy rates in the city of Riverside are falling while demand is
increasing. With a population of more than 3 million people and large tracts of affordable housing,
the region has been a powerful magnet for companies eager to take advantage of land and larger
facilities that lease for a fraction of the cost of coastal counties.
About Janez…
Based in San Diego, CA, the Janez Group is a diversified real estate firm, specializing in the
acquisition, development and management of commercial real estate in Southern California. The
full-service real estate investment and property management firm has a 20-year successful track
record acquiring and developing commercial properties in Southern California. Janez is headquartered
at 12526 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, California. For more information, please visit
www.janezgroup.com.
About Buchanan Street Partners…
Buchanan Street Partners is a leading real estate
investment bank that provides real estate capital for owners and developers. Founded in 1999,
Buchanan Street Partners has offices in Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and
Atlanta, and has closed more than $10 billion in real estate transactions since its inception.
Buchanan Street Partners makes principal equity investments for real estate in a discretionary
capacity, arranges debt and structured finance, is an investment manager to institutional and
private investors, offers investment sale brokerage services, and has a specialty in self-storage
finance.
