Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the sale of 5000 Birch, a two-building, Class A office property totaling 297,617 square feet in Newport Beach, California.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an institutional client of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. John Hancock Real Estate, the U.S. Division of Manulife Financial Corp., purchased the asset.

5000 Birch consists of the six-story East Tower and the 10-story West Tower, which combined are 80 percent leased. Situated on 3.92 acres at the gateway between Newport Beach and the Irvine Business Complex, the property has easy access to Interstate 405, Highway 73 and the John Wayne Airport. 5000 Birch is also convenient to executive housing in Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Corona Del Mar, Irvine and Laguna Beach as well as the retail offerings at Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza.

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director Ryan Gallagher, managing director Mike McCann, director Tim Geiman and associate director Derreck Barker.

“5000 Birch is one of only five properties of its size within the city of Newport Beach and due to restrictive city ordinances for new development, the new owner will likely face zero supply risk within this prestigious zip code,” said Gallagher. “In addition, the property will greatly benefit from its location in the ‘Jamboree Corridor’ that is redefining itself as a walkable, urban community with record levels of residential and retail construction that will ultimately drive office demand, higher occupancy and rent growth.”

About Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers

Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC, with subsidiary and affiliate offices in the U.S., UK, Europe, and Asia, is one of the largest global real estate investment managers. It provides core and value-added investment and advisory services, including a comprehensive suite of private and public real estate debt, equity and securities expertise and services, to institutional and other qualified investors around the globe. Cornerstone is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. For more information, visit www.cornerstoneadvisers.com.

About HFF

HFF and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 22 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., acting by and through Holliday GP Corp., a real estate broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate, License Number 01385740.