By now you’ve probably noticed that many of those condo projects that got shelved during the housing meltdown are finally coming off the shelf. (We need to make room on our shelves for our Stanley Cup memorabilia.) Latest case in point: Trumark Urban’s plans to jumpstart a condo development in Downtown LA.
The company, an offshoot of San Francisco-based Trumark, bought a fully entitled site in South Park to build a $100M, 151-unit development. The site (corner of West 11th Street and South Grand Avenue) was entitled in 2007 and stalled during the financial crisis. Trumark Urban plans to break ground in January after spending the rest of the year freshening up the design, amenities and unit mix. The 24-story project will boast a sky-pool lounge area, pet-washing stations (separate from the pool, which is good news), and a movie theater, among other perks. The company is under contract to buy a second DTLA condo site with construction anticipated in Q3.
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A JV of ASB Real Estate Investments and Blatteis & Schnur bought five warehouse buildings in the Downtown LA Arts District for more than $32M. ASB, which made the investment on behalf of its Allegiance Real Estate Fund, plans to transform the industrial complex into a 125k SF urban retail center with a 430-space parking structure. The $30M redevelopment plan, which requires local government approvals, will retain the buildings’ 24-foot high ceilings and large open floor plates to create an open-air shopping destination.
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LBA Realty sold Mission Oaks Technology Center, a 265k SF business campus in Camarillo (5151-5155 Camino Ruiz) to ZDI Inc. CBRE’s Michael Slater, Tom Dwyer, Paul Farry, Doug Shaw and Jim Meaney repped LBA, which acquired the property in December 2012 as part of a portfolio.
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Raven Ridge Development bought nearly one acre in Agoura Hills that’s entitled for 18 apartments for just over $2M or $116k/unit. Entitled parcels are rarely available in the Conejo Valley and command a premium, according to Lee & Associates’ John Battle, who repped both the buyer and seller along with Matt Benwitt. The seller, an owner/operator of upscale car washes, spent nine years entitling the project through the City of Agoura Hills. The two-story townhomes will be built to condo specs for possible future conversion.
LEASES
In LA’s largest industrial lease so far this year, 99 Cents Only Stores inked a 615k SF deal in Garfield Corporate Center in Commerce. The new site (6100 Garfield Ave) will operate as 99 Cents’ distribution center in conjunction with the company’s existing warehouses in Commerce, according to CBRE’s John Privett, who repped the retailer along with his colleagues Cameron Merrill and Richard Rizika. The 27-acre facility will serve as the retailer's corporate HQ and house more than 300 employees. Plans call for adding 30k SF of offices. The building, which 99 Cents leased from KTR Capital Partners, is slated for completion in Q2. JLL's Barry Hill, Paul Sablock, Tim O'Rourke, Mike Fowler, and Zac Sakowski repped the landlord.
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Universal Music Group leased more than 146k SF in LNR Warner Center in Woodland Hills in the largest relocation lease signed this year in the San Fernando Valley. UMG will occupy the top four floors at 21301 Burbank Blvd, combining two existing Woodland Hills offices into a larger location. CBRE’s Paul Stockwell, Josh Leibowitz and Jeremy Charles repped the tenant. Hines was represented in-house by Todd Later and Eric Lyon.
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CBRE’s Michael Slater and Tom Dwyer repped the tenants in three office deals totaling more than 77k SF. Gold Coast Health Plan, an independent public entity governed by the Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission, leased 33k SF at 711 E Daily Dr in Camarillo. CallSource, a provider of call tracking-based solutions, leased 25k SF at 5601 Lindero Canyon Rd in Westlake Village. The duo along with colleague Rich Bright repped Tri-Counties Regional Center, a nonprofit that serves developmentally disabled folks, in a 18k SF lease at 2635 Park Center Dr in Simi Valley.
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Opportunities for Learning signed a 2,640 SF lease expansion at 1970 Sequoia Ave in Simi Valley. Illi Commercial’s Todd Nathanson and Jeffrey Shore repped the landlord.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Elisa Paster, formerly with Gilchrist & Rutter, joined Glaser Weil as a partner in the Government and Regulatory Law Practice Group. She reps developers, land owners, investors and municipal governments in land use and entitlement matters.
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Eric Hasserjian joined CBRE as managing director of asset services for the Greater LA area, overseeing more than 35M SF of office, industrial and retail property. He joins the firm from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, where he was a senior managing director leading the firm’s SoCal landlord representation business.
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With development on the rise, Cox Castle Nicholson added Jose Padilla Jr as senior counsel in the Construction and Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice areas. He brings more than 30 years of litigation experience, with an emphasis on construction claims and defect litigation.
