Construction Begins on Mixed-Use Project in Hollywood

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A mixed-use project designed to enliven a quiet section of Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood has broken ground.


Sherman Oaks-based Frost/Chaddock Developers LLC began building the residential and retail project earlier this month at 801 N. Fairfax Ave.


The development, which will include 93 rental units and about 16,000 square feet of retail space, has been designed to enliven a sleepy portion of the avenue that lacks some of the pizzazz that can be found on the street south of Melrose Avenue.


“We think this is really going to improve this area,” said John Frost, general counsel for Frost/Chaddock. “This particular block is a relatively quiet untapped area and this will bring a nice mix to the area of quality attractive building as well as some needed retail.” Construction is slated to take between 18-24 months for the market-rate apartment building.


Frost/Chaddock, a residential, mixed-use and retail developer, assembled three separate parcels over the last few years to create the development site. The site formerly included apartments, retail and office space and an automotive use, which required a contaminated soil cleanup, said James Frost, principal of Frost/Chaddock and John Frost’s brother.


George Smith Partners Inc. is financing the project with $28.4 million in construction financing.



Glendale Lease

The Glendale office market long the weakest of the Tri-Cities may be on the rebound.


Yellowpages.com LLC has signed a lease for 73,611 square feet of space at 611 N. Brand Blvd. on the heels of two long-term lease deals at 505 N. Brand Blvd. that totaled 27,800 square feet.


In August, Yellowpages.com, a subsidiary of AT & T; Inc., will begin occupying three floors at the building owned by Maguire Properties Inc. The five-year lease deal is valued in excess of $12.5 million. It’s the largest Glendale lease commitment made this year.


“This is a shot in the arm for Glendale,” said Nico Vilgiate, a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. who represented Yellowpages.com in the deal.


Glendale had a 16.2 percent vacancy rate in the fourth quarter, while Burbank whose media district is red hot had a 3.6 percent vacancy rate and Pasadena a 4.7 percent vacancy rate, according to Grubb & Ellis Co. data. Vilgiate said the deal will take 1 percent of the vacant space off of Glendale’s 6.4 million-square-foot office market.


Yellowpages.com will relocate from offices in Pasadena, where the company has outgrown its 25,000 square feet of space. The company’s new offices in the Class A building will serve as its headquarters.


“This Yellowpages.com deal is a sign of things to come,” said Vilgiate. “Glendale is going to be the direct beneficiary of the neighboring communities and their single-digit vacancy rates.”


Todd Doney of CB Richard Ellis also represented the tenant and Maguire was represented in-house by Josh Wrobel.



Huntington Update

When it comes to upgrading large municipal and cultural buildings, cost overruns and delays are a common occurrence.


For example, the renovated Griffith Observatory opened over a year late and the renovation project went over its initial budget of $57 million by more than $30 million.


However, the renovation of the Huntington Library is right on schedule and in line with cost projections, according to Earl Corp., the general contractor on the project.


The library, which includes art collections and botanical gardens, has been closed since April 2005 as it undergoes a $19.2 million renovation that is addressing structural needs and upgrading the library’s gallery space with new temperature and humidity controls.


“It’s surprising to us everything is right on schedule,” said Ben Earl, senior vice president of Irwindale-based Earl Corp., which also handled the design work on the renovation.


The library, owned by the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery Trust, was built as a home for tycoon Henry E. Huntington in 1911. It will reopen in mid-2008. The rest of the complex and grounds have remained open amid the construction.



Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected], or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.

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