AAA of Northern California just wrote a $37.5 million check for Pacific Plaza, the office complex at 1340 Treat Boulevard that sits practically eye-to-eye with the club’s Walnut Creek headquarters across the street. The buy gives the regional motor club control of a highly visible suburban office property next to the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART station. The deal closed at the end of June, shifting the complex out of long-time institutional ownership and into the hands of one of Walnut Creek’s most recognizable employers.
Deal details
Documents on file with the Contra Costa County Recorder list AAA of Northern California as the buyer and show a June 30 recording date, according to The Mercury News. County records peg the price at $37.5 million and identify sellers connected to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The transaction completes a handoff of an East Bay office property that had been in institutional portfolios for years.
Building and tenants
Pacific Plaza is marketed as roughly a quarter-million to 270,000 square feet of office space on about 4.6 acres, according to the building’s marketing materials and an ENERGY STAR profile. The complex includes on-site amenities such as a ClubSport fitness club and ground-floor retail and has long housed a mix of corporate tenants. Central Garden & Pet lists its Walnut Creek executive offices at 1340 Treat, making it one of the larger occupants at the property.
Price history and previous owner
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) bought Pacific Plaza in 2002 for about $57 million, according to historical commercial real estate reporting. AAA’s $37.5 million price tag is a notable step down from that earlier, pre-pandemic valuation. The gap underscores how suburban office values have shifted since the early 2000s.
What’s next for AAA
AAA already operates nearby at 1277 Treat Boulevard, which its membership terms list as the Walnut Creek address, and the adjacent Treat Towers property was acquired by Rockpoint in 2019, according to reporting by the San Francisco Business Times and AAA’s own filings. In a brief comment to The Mercury News, AAA’s Mountain West group said it is still evaluating its use, leaving open whether the club will pull more staff into the new complex, treat it primarily as an income-generating investment, or head in a different direction entirely. Local permit applications and leasing activity will likely be the first public hints about AAA’s plans.
For Walnut Creek, the sale puts a major office property next to BART under the control of a large local organization rather than a distant pension fund. Depending on how AAA plays it, that could shift weekday foot traffic, office leasing patterns, and the feel of the Treat Boulevard corridor. County records and lease notices will be the place to watch for the next move.
