Blackstone sells Santa Monica office buildings to foreign investor

Douglas Emmett and an existing joint venture that includes Qatar Investment Authority have acquired two office buildings in downtown Santa Monica, Calif.

The buildings total approximately 293,000 square feet and sold for a combined purchase price of approximately $352.8 million, or $1,481 per square foot.  The seller was Blackstone Group, which acquired the properties in 2007 as part of its acquisition of Equity Office Properties Trust and paid $800 per square foot.

The transaction is the largest in sales price to be announced in the L.A. office market this year, according to CBRE.

The buildings are located at 1299 Ocean Ave. and 429 Santa Monica Blvd.

1299 Ocean is an 11-story oceanfront office building comprised of 206,000 square feet with private balconies and an open park plaza facing the coastline.

429 Santa Monica is an 87,000-square-foot office building located in the heart of downtown Santa Monica. The building has both ocean and mountain