Long Beach-based Seventh Street Development is extending its push into Pomona.
The company, which is wrapping up the first phase of construction of its 14-building Mission-71 Business Park, is planning a second industrial development across the street at 2205 West Mt. Vernon Ave.
The new project, five buildings totaling 408,000 square feet, will be built in partnership with Genesis Real Estate Fund II on the site of a Blue Heron Paper Co. paper mill, which Seventh Street purchased last month for an undisclosed sum.
The paper company shut down the mill in the spring and will handle the demolition of the facility, said Craig Furniss, principal at Seventh Street. The demolition should be wrapped up by November 2008, with construction of the industrial buildings starting soon thereafter.
Furniss said Pomona meets the criteria that his firm has established when choosing locations for its sites. “We look to develop in areas with low to moderate income where there is job creation possibility.”
Buildings will be offered for sale or lease depending on the offers project brokerage CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. receives. Lynn Knox of CB Richard Ellis said the property is being marketed toward “owner-users.”
“They will build it spec if we can’t find built-to-suit owners,” said Knox, noting the area has a tight supply of desirable industrial properties.
The vacancy rate for industrial space in the San Gabriel Valley was 1.9 percent in the third quarter, according to Grubb & Ellis Co. The average asking rent for industrial space was $0.53 per square foot per month.
The nearly 20-acre property, near the intersection of the Chino Valley (71) Freeway and Mission Boulevard, should be a good fit for food-processing companies. Any occupant would be permitted to discharge up to 14,000 gallons of industrial waste per day.
“There are several food companies in the City of Industry and surrounding areas that are looking to expand. I think we will find (a buyer or buyers) before we move forward on the site plan,” said Knox. “It’s really difficult to find sites such as this.”
Creative Environments
Local developer Creative Environments of Hollywood Inc. will complete its Lacy Studio Lofts live/work project in Lincoln Heights by Dec. 15.
The rental property includes 45 lofts and is about a block from a Metropolitan Transportation Authority Gold Line stop. Over 20 percent of the units have been leased and residents will begin moving in later this month, said Howard Sadowsky, vice chairman of Creative Environments.
Creative Environments bought the 2664 Lacy St. property in 2005. It comprises three 1930s industrial and warehouse buildings, and a former strip club.
Sadowsky said his company, which specializes in rental properties, paid about $50 per square foot, or about $3 million, for the buildings, which total around 60,000 square feet.
Since then, the company has renovated the warehouse and industrial buildings, adding mezzanine levels to the structures to make them function better as live/work lofts.
“There is nothing really in the immediate area that is like this,” Sadowsky said. “In downtown L.A. in the Arts District there is, but most of that stuff the owners just carved up units and let the tenants build their own kitchens and bathrooms. We’ve completed it with full kitchens and bathrooms.”
Units range in size from 750 to 1,800 square feet and range in price from $2,000 to $3,500 per month.
“When people see the lofts, they are usually quite blown away because of the volume of space you get,” said Sadowsky, adding that the project is targeted at renters in creative fields, including advertising and graphic design.
The former strip club, Blue Zebra Adult Cabaret, has been converted into offices for Creative Environments.
Century City Lease
Goodkin & Lynch LLP, a law firm specializing in representing real estate developers, has signed a five-year lease at 1880 Century Park East.
The $1.2 million contract is for 5,508 square feet on the building’s 10th floor. The deal brings the building’s vacancy down to 1 percent. The 1970 structure is currently undergoing a renovation by owner Held Properties Inc. that is slated to finish by the end of the year.
Goodkin & Lynch moved into its new space in August. Previously, the local firm, founded just a year ago, occupied temporary space on the building’s 14th floor.
“I thought they got an excellent deal, because they took the space with low tenant improvements,” said Robert Held, president of Held Properties. “Another deal in the building is 20 cents more per foot on a renewal.”
Held Properties declined to disclose the exact per-square-foot lease rate. The average asking rent for Class A space in West Los Angeles was $4.50 per square foot per month in the third quarter, according to Grubb & Ellis.
Goodkin & Lynch took the space that law firm Fonda and Fraser LLP previously occupied, but that firm has moved out of the building.
“It’s nice to have our name on the door and in the lobby,” said Dan Goodkin, a name partner of Goodkin & Lynch.
Joel Delman of Held Properties brokered the deal.
Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.
