Historic downtown office building goes on the block
Jun. 30—One of Bakersfield's oldest office buildings has been put up for sale as part of a local asset sell-off expected to benefit from renewed interest in the city's downtown.
The Kern Land Building, a pressed-brick icon built in the late 19th century, was listed for sale Wednesday at $1.7 million by a Burbank-based trust that's also trying to sell four other Bakersfield properties.
"It's a historic staple of Bakersfield and I hope the new buyer is someone who can keep it going," said listing agent Caleb Morrison with Illi Commercial Real Estate brokerage, based in the San Fernando Valley.
Designed by San Francisco architect Henry A. Schulze, the 18,140-square-foot structure covering three-quarters of an acre was built by the Kern County Land Co. a few years after its founding, when the firm was a major landowner in Kern County. It outgrew the property and sold it in 1959.
A short walk from the landmark Padre Hotel, the property is located at 1712 19th St., between G and H streets near the city's arts district. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s.
"It's certainly within the radius of where things are happening ... and that's really what you want for an office building," Morrison said.
He predicted that whoever buys the property will want to raise rents, as Illi has characterized the property's tenants as paying below-market prices. As it is, the building's 31 units of varying sizes are 82.5% occupied, with renters ranging from law firms and other professional service providers to salons and a restaurant.
Already the listing has drawn interest from potential buyers that include local investors, he added.
"We've had engagement almost as soon as the listing went up," Morrison said.
Owners at the Jack Arian and Sylvia Arian Intervivos Trust have chosen to liquidate assets as a result of a generational change of ownership, Morrison said. He noted that such properties tend to be management-intensive such that inexperienced investors can become overwhelmed by the attention required.
Other local properties owned by the trust and also listed for sale are the 12-unit Winchester Apartments nearby on 19th Street and three commercial buildings including the former Supply Sergeant on Chester Avenue across from the Kern County Museum.
Downtown Bakersfield has attracted interest from residential and commercial developers in recent years even as shop owners have complained about vandalism and break-ins.
The city of Bakersfield has given out a series of financial incentives it hopes will persuade property owners and developers to fix up downtown properties that have either sat vacant for years or which are underused.
Among the more hopeful recent projects are a series of high-end apartment buildings headed by Sage Properties in the Eastchester area, and Moneywise Wealth Management's ongoing, mixed-use redevelopment of the Woolworth's building on 19th Street.
