Vista project, South Meadows land sold

A stalled industrial condominium project on Vista Boulevard, along with more than seven acres of neighboring land, has been purchased by a Bay Area real estate investment company in a cash deal.

A South Meadows property, meanwhile, has been acquired by a Carson City company that plans to develop an office building on the site.

Balboa Funds Inc. of Corta Madera, Calif., purchased Vista Business Park in Sparks for $3.2 million from its original developer, a partnership overseen by The Voit Companies of Newport Beach, Calif.

Brian Armon and Lance Faulstich, principals with Trinity, a commercial real brokerage in Reno, represented Balboa in the transaction. The Voit Companies represented itself.

Carlo Mormorunni, president of Balboa Funds, said six of the 17 industrial condo units constructed by Voit remain empty and unsold. The 50,000-square-foot project broke ground more than three years ago.

The debt-free purchase, he said, gives Balboa Funds flexibility in developing owner financing, lease-to-purchase and other options for buyers.

"We don't have to hit it out of the market today," he said. "We got a good deal on this project. It gives us the flexibility to do deals."

The new owner doesn't have immediate plans for development of the vacant property north of the industrial condos, although Mormorunni said executives lean toward keeping the land as a single parcel for sale to a single user. It's less than mile north of the intersection of Interstate 80 and Vista Boulevard and fronts heavily traveled Vista.

Balboa purchased a 33,072-square-foot office building at 6121 Lakeside Drive last year, and Mormorunni said the company plans to open a Reno-area office as it expects to expand its holdings in Nevada.

He said the real estate company likes the Nevada business climate and sees strong long-term potential in the Reno market, especially as its housing prices once again compare favorably with California markets.

Besides, he says, "I just like Reno."

In the South Meadows transaction, Shaheen Beauchamp Builders LLC of Carson City purchased 1.43 acres of vacant land along Damonte Ranch Parkway next to the former headquarters of Landmark Homes. Shaheen Beauchamp plans a two-story office building on the site. Jeff Shaheen says his company would like to break ground in six to eight months and be completed in 18 months.

The transaction was brokered by Thomas Y. Johnson, John Lynch and Tomi Jo Lynch of Sperry Van Ness in Reno. They represented both the buyer and the seller.

NNBW staff