The spate of activity in the western San Fernando Valley continues to intensify through the fourth quarter.
Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors has agreed to pay $162 million for the 655,000-square-foot Trillium at 6300-6320 Canoga Ave. in Woodland Hills, according to a source close to the deal.
Beacon Capital Partners unloaded the 90-percent leased Trillium, one of Warner Center’s premier addresses, after buying it three years ago from the California Public Employees Retirement System for $134 million. The Boston-based firm garnered an 18 percent return on the deal, which was first reported in Real Estate Alert.
Beacon has been active in the marketplace recently, selling Bank of America Plaza for $435 million two months ago and picking up Figueroa Plaza for $133.5 million two weeks ago.
The Trillium deal follows three large Woodland Hills transactions within the last three months.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in the process of buying 21st Century Plaza, one of the submarket’s trophy buildings, in a deal valued at more than $130 million. Arden Realty Group Inc. picked up the 254,000-square-foot Warner Corporate Center for about $64 million. And Younan Properties Inc. flipped WarnerView Corporate Center to Value Home Loan Inc. for $12.5 million.
Two large deals are still looming on the Warner Center market. Credit Suisse First Boston is shopping around its 449,000-square-foot LNR Warner Center, which could fetch a price in the neighborhood of $150 million. And Apollo Real Estate Advisors is nearing a deal for the Warner Center building it owns that serves as the headquarters for WellPoint Health Networks.
Lantana Growing
In addition to buying Union Bank Plaza, Hines Properties has begun marketing its 332,000 Lantana Media Campus in Santa Monica.
After a five-year tussle with neighbors, the Santa Monica City Council last month granted Houston-based Hines approval to build two new office buildings totaling 190,000 square feet.
Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Senior Director Carl Muhlstein has the listing, which he said is more akin to a recapitalization. Hines is looking to raise money from investors to complete the proposed expansion, he said.
“We’re not looking to sell it,” Muhlstein said, although he acknowledged a sale was a possibility.
Located at 3000 W. Olympic Blvd., Lantana is nearly fully occupied with about a third of the building’s space dedicated to video editing rooms that are rented out on a monthly basis. IMAX Corp. and Revolution Studios take space in the project as well.
With its configuration, the complex is priced at $130 million, but with the new development the value could easily rise by $70 million.
The two additions are Lantana East (60,000 square feet) and Lantana South (130,000 square feet). If a deal came along that made sense to sell the complex outright, Hines would consider it, Muhlstein said.
Making Music
Universal Music Group, majority owned by Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA, has inked a nearly $30 million deal for 200,000 square feet in 10 Universal City Plaza.
The six-and-a-half-year deal doubles the company’s current presence in the building, owned by a joint venture of Beacon Capital Partners and CarrAmerica Realty Corp.
Universal Music Group plans to consolidate offices across the San Fernando Valley into the location, where as many as 600 employees could be stationed. The company leases an additional 200,000-square-foot headquarters in Santa Monica at 2220 Colorado Ave.
The deal follows on the heels of a six-year, 19,166-square-foot lease in the same building taken by Panasonic Technologies Co. The building is now close to fully leased.
UMG and Panasonic were represented by Grubb & Ellis Co. senior vice presidents Brad Wilson and Jim Lindvell. The landlord was represented internally by Andy Fishburn.
Beauty of a Deal
Sonya Dakar Skin Care, a Beverly Hills-based developer and retailer of skin care products, acquired a 67,000 square-foot facility in the northern San Fernando Valley and plans to lease out a portion of the space it is not likely to use.
The company bought the building at 605 Eighth Street in San Fernando for $5.7 million. It will be used as a distribution center along with research and development and office space.
George Stavaris, who along with Darren Cline at Colliers Seeley International represented the buyer.
The seller, G & G; Properties, was represented by Kevin Tamura and Chris Sullivan at Daum Commercial Real Estate Services.
Burbank Lease
State Compensation Insurance Fund signed a lease for 52,064 square feet of office space at Burbank Empire Center.
The 5 & #733;-year lease is valued at more than $7.3 million. State Compensation will employ about 250 workers at the location.
The tenant was represented by Brad Chelf of CB Richard Ellis Inc. Paul Stockwell at Studley represented the landlord, Menlo Equities.
Staff reporter Andy Fixmer can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 263, or at
[email protected]
. San Fernando Valley Business Journal staff reporter Shelly Garcia contributed to this column.
