This Week's LA Deal Sheet
Four apartment properties in the San Fernando Valley have been sold by long-term owners in separate transactions totaling more than $57M. Berkadia's Dean Zander and Vince Norris handled the listings for the properties, which total 269 units.
The dynamic duo closed the deals over a three-week period. Dean (with wife Kristina, daughter Georgia and son Drake in Kauai last month) notes each seller's motivation was different, but the deals all underscore investors' appetite for multifamily product in strong submarkets like the SF Valley. All four properties boast close proximity to major employment, transportation, recreation and entertainment options, along with upside potential. Essential Management bought the 37-unit South Seas Apartments on Saticoy Street in Reseda—known as the setting for the 1984 hit The Karate Kid—from a private seller. The brokers wax on that the buyer plans to renovate the units and common areas, and retrofit the parking area.
Vince (with wife Cindy on their 30th anniversary in London) says the offerings attracted hundreds of interested buyers, including individuals, sponsored groups and institutional investors. Royal Oak Apartments and Pall Mall Properties of LA acquired a pair of 54-unit, 1980s-built properties from their original developer, a New Jersey-based investment group, in separate deals totaling $29M. Sylmar Gardens on Sylmar Avenue in Van Nuys sits within a whisker of the Van Nuys courthouse and civic center, while Valleyheart Gardens on Valleyheart Drive in Sherman Oaks is walking distance to Westfield Fashion Square and close to the 101 and 405 freeways; both owners plan to launch reno programs.
The fourth deal, Mountainback Apartment Homes on Foothill Boulevard in Lakeview Terrace, includes 124 units in eight two-story buildings on 5.5 acres next to the Hansen Dam Recreation Area. The property, sold by San Francisco-based Jackson Square Properties, attracted nearly 130 prospective buyers and was snapped up by a local private investment group for just under $24.3M. Berkadia's Allan Freedman provided full-term IO financing.
SALES
A half-empty neighborhood shopping center in Cerritos provided a compelling investment opportunity for an owner-user, which bought the 43k SF property (17500-17510 Carmenita Rd) for $9.6M. The buyer, which originally was looking to lease, plans to move its furniture retailing business into the center's largest space—a 27k SF former Rite-Aid Drug Store building that's been vacant for more than a year. Colliers International's Chris Maling and David Maling repped the seller, Five Points LLC. Re/Max Commercial's Brett OKeefe repped the investor-user. The 3.8-acre center's major tenants include Dollar Tree and Wilshire State Bank.
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Chicago-based Slevin Capital Development Inc, the parent company of Slevin Automotive Group, bought 10.5 acres from the owners of Calabasas' Sperling Nursery to develop a Nissan dealership. The parcel (24460 Calabasas Rd) is reportedly one of the last commercially zoned properties of its size in Calabasas. With no comparable properties in the area, the parcel was listed without a price, leaving it to demand and the land's rarity to establish the value, according to Lee & Associates-LA North Ventura's John Battle, who repped both sides along with Mike Tingus and Grant Fulkerson. An iconic Calabasas business, Sperling Nursery grew from a sod outlet in 1971 to a full-service garden supplier with customers throughout SoCal. After founder Joe Sperling passed away in 2013, the owners decide to close the business and sell the property.
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Ingallina’s Catering bought a 10k SF building in Monterey Park (1398 Monterey Pass Rd) from the Senift & Vandegrift Trust for just over $1.2M. Heger Industrial’s Thomas Holland repped the seller, while Lee & Associates' Armen Kazaryan repped the buyer.
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Berkadia's David Harrington and Kyle Mirrafati sold 3610 Westwood Blvd, a seven-unit apartment building in LA, for nearly $2.3M or 323k/unit. The property, which was built in 1962, traded over the list price at a closing cap rate of 4.13%.
LEASES
Soylent, a food technology company, leased more than 16k SF at Broadway Media Center, 207 S Broadway St in DTLA. The meal replacement food producer will occupy the fifth and sixth floors of the building for its HQ. JLL's Ben Stapleton, who repped the tenant, says Soylent wanted to move into a creative space that will reflect its culture and provide a sense of identity. The deal includes highly visible exterior signage. CBRE repped landlord Broadway Civic Center LP. The property recently was converted from a traditional office building to creative office space.
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Clothing Illustrated Inc leased a 37k SF, two-story warehouse in LA (2014 E 15th St) in a deal valued at $1.5M. Gabriel Weiss & Associates' Michael Weiss repped the tenant. Heger Industrial’s Jon Reno, Philip Dray and Stephan Ktorza represented the landlord, 2014 East 15th Street Associates.
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InterMetro Industries Corp leased 9420 Santa Anita Ave in Rancho Cucamonga, containing over 47k SF on 4.2 acres, in a deal valued in excess of $1.5M. Heger Industrial’s Jack Whalen and Pain Wetzel Associates' Curt Stanton and Patrick Fitzgerald repped the tenant. Lee & Associates' Michael Fine repped landlord BLM Property Co.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Ryan Sakamoto (above) joined RealtyMogul.com as in-house general counsel, responsible for overseeing all key legal affairs for the company, including investment and securities transactions, contracts and compliance matters. He comes to RealtyMogul from Wedbush, where he served as general counsel and chief administrative officer. In addition, Michael Sanchez and Charles Kim, both formerly with Colony Capital's commercial mortgage lending arm, Colony Mortgage Capital, joined RealtyMogul's new commercial lending division.
