Unico American Buys New HQ Building

189

Unico American Corp. has purchased a two-story office building in Calabasas with plans to eventually make it the company’s headquarters.

The Woodland Hills property-and-casualty insurer has bought a 46,884 square-foot office building within the Calabasas Commerce Center for $9.5 million.

The 26050 Mureau Road building is fully leased, with Zurich-based reinsurer Swiss Re occupying more than 36,000 square feet.

Jeffrey Gould, senior associate, and Jeff Albee, senior vice president, at the Encino office of Colliers International, represented the seller, Papazian-Hirsch Calabasas LP.

Gould said Unico will serve as landlord of the building for the time being, with no planned move-in date for its operations.

“It’s unknown as of now the full scope of what Unico will do with the space,” he said. “But this gives them income in the interim, while they figure things out.”

The building is about four miles from Unico’s current headquarters at 23251 Mulholland Drive.

Unico Chief Executive Cary Cheldin told the Business Journal in July while the sale was in escrow that the purchase was driven by simple financials; the company has been renting about 25,000 square feet at its current office for more than 20 years.

“The primary motivation is to own the building that we’re occupying and discontinue being renters,” he said.

Hal Cook of Cook Commercial represented Unico in the transaction, which closed in late Sept. 26.