GE Acquires Naiman Center

General Electric Investments Corp. has assumed full ownership of the financially troubled Naiman Tech Center, a nine-building Sorrento Valley office complex that is best known for its landmark red sculpture.

General Electric Investments was formerly a minority partner with developer Jack Naiman, who built the 635,000-square-foot complex near the junction of Interstates 5 and 805. Naiman defaulted on a $70-million loan from now-failed HomeFed Bank in 1990, and the partnership subsequently entered bankruptcy proceedings.

General Electric acquired ownership of the complex, which is 65% occupied, after providing an unidentified amount of fresh capital that was used to restructure the HomeFed loan.

Naiman no longer is associated with the office complex, which is being renamed “San Diego Tech Center.” The property will be run by Williams Partners, a San Diego-based property-management firm.

Occupancy rates at the complex have been hampered by a glut of new space that came on the market in recent years. Because of that glut, most office building managers have been forced to cut rents--a move that has made it even more difficult to remain profitable.