Big names, big deal

One of the nicer office properties in South Natomas has just changed hands in a deal involving a couple of Sacramento's most prominent business families.

A partnership including the Wong family, former owners of the Bel Air Markets chain, and Sacramento's Ritchey family has acquired the 27-acre Natomas West Corporate Center for $52.8 million. The seller: The project's developer, Natomas/West Investors, headed by Jon Kelly, a former owner of KCRA and current chairman of River City Bank.

The campus-like business park, just west of Interstate 5 between Gateway Oaks and Venture Oaks, opened in 2001. It has four buildings with a total 240,000 square feet of space and room for an additional two buildings.

The new owners "probably will build that (extra land) out," given increasing leasing activity, says Tom Aguer, a principal with Aguer Havelock Associates, which worked on the sales deal.

Aguer's firm will handle leasing for the new owners, and he says there's interest in "every square foot" of the project, including the recently completed and still vacant fourth building.

The local office market has been sluggish since 2001. This year is seeing significant improvement. "It's heading in the right direction," Aguer says.