Orange County Business Journal | Healthcare Real Estate

HPA Realty Inc. in Brea purchased approximately 195,000 square feet of industrial and medical offices at 2727 and 2767 Imperial Highway for $47.3 million.

Fullerton-based St. Jude Medical Center is one of the anchor tenants.

HPA will serve as the leasing and property manager for the Brea Imperial Centre.

The investment was made through the HPA Growth Fund, which is managed by Healthcare Property Advisors, a subsidiary of the La Palma-based Innovation Institute. The acquisition follows the recent purchase of a medical office building at 101 Laguna Road in Fullerton.

The institute is a for-profit LLC owned by six nonprofit health systems, including Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Providence St. Joseph Health. It has an incubator to commercialize internal medical innovation by hospitals in its health system network, a fund to invest in outside opportunities, and a cash-generating enterprise arm that owns a portfolio of companies to fund the incubator. HPA is in the latter category.

Hospitals and health systems can generate significant cost savings and improve patient care by reinvesting that capital into technology and care delivery, according to a CBRE report. It said savings can come from outsourcing property management or selling the facility to an investor and leasing back the space.

Innovation Institute Chief Executive Joe Randolph told the Business Journal last month that it struck a relationship this year with Bridge Investment Group in Orlando, Fla., to build a fund focusing on medical asset buildings next to hospitals.

The institute has an existing fund focused on outpatient centers and medical office buildings.

Excerpt from Orange County Business Journal