After a very quick lease-up of the 93 units at its Fairfax district apartment building, Frost/Chaddock Developers LLC is turning its attention to completing the leasing of the project’s ground-floor retail space.
If that goes anything like the residential side of the project, which leased in just two months after throwing open the doors June 15, the Sherman Oaks developer should be done soon.
About 60 percent of the 801 N. Fairfax Ave. project’s 15,600-square-foot retail space is already leased to four tenants: Pedini, a kitchen design company; pet supply store TailWaggers; Coffee Commissary; and Sweat Garage, a personal training studio. Pedini will be the first to move in, likely occupying the space by March, said developer James Frost, principal of Frost/Chaddock.
Frost said he’d like to sign a restaurant for the property’s prominent southeast corner, but declined to name the potential operators with whom he’s in talks.
Frost/Chaddock had expected to take about six months to lease the residential portion of the project. Despite the recession, it happened much quicker than that.
“When we were leasing, the first weekend there were three or four (signings) and we thought, ‘This is great but it will never happen again,’” recalled Frost. “We thought it would be one here, one there. Then the next weekend there were nine (signings) and the weekend after that there were 10 or 12.”
Frost said a small concession – tenants were offered a month of free rent – sped up the process, but he believes that it was design and pricing that sealed the deal.
The four-story modern building was designed by Reed Architectural Group of Santa Monica, and includes a rooftop lounge and exercise facilities. The rental range for a typical one-bedroom unit of roughly 650 square feet is $1,850 to $2,150 per month. The range for a typical 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom unit is $2,800 to $3,500.
Historic Sale
The historic Second Church of Christ Scientist building at 948 W. Adams Blvd. has been sold to a non-profit that will use the property for meditation, yoga and other healing programs.
The Art of Living Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based group, purchased the 21,014-square-foot building, home to a Korean church until early last year, for $5.2 million. The deal closed Dec. 17 with seller WaltCo LLC, an investment entity that held the property for owner Walter Conn, chief executive of real estate brokerage Charles Dunn Co.
The large domed building includes a sanctuary that seats 1,100 and a smaller auditorium. Built in 1910 and designed by famed L.A. architect Albert C. Martin, the Italian renaissance-style building is on both local and national historic registers.
Jeff Houk, executive director of Art of Living, said the organization had long been looking for property in Los Angles, but had been stymied because of the real estate boom.
“The market was at its peak and there wasn’t a lot of inventory,” he said.
The humanitarian group, which was founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a disciple of Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, has already occupied the property. Houk said Art of Living will likely spend about $2 million on renovations later this year.
The building sits on a 68,999-square-foot parcel. Also purchased was an an adjacent 3,611-square-foot building at 2636 S. Hoover St.
David Eitches, a Charles Dunn broker who represented both parties, said the property was listed in early 2009 and received several offers, including bids from real estate developers. He said that there was a higher offer but the non-profit was chosen because it could pay in cash.
Conn declined to comment.
Westwood Lease
Wasserman Media Group, the sports management firm headed by Casey Wasserman, has signed a 10-year lease for headquarters space at 10960 Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood.
The Dec. 22 deal for about 37,000 square feet at the Equity Office Properties Trust building is valued at more than $16 million. The monthly lease rate starts in the low- to mid-$3-per-square-foot range on a full-service gross basis and will escalate annually, according to real estate industry sources.
“It’s a Class A building in a market they wanted to be in,” said Bob Safai of Madison Partners, who represented Wasserman Media.
Wasserman Media will vacate its offices at 12100 W. Olympic Blvd. in West L.A. and move into its new digs by the end of the year. It will occupy a portion of the 21st and the entire 22nd floors of 24-story building.
Steven Salas, a Madison broker who also represented the tenant, said more than $100 per square foot will be spent on building out the space, with the cost shared by the landlord and tenant.
Equity, a unit of New York-based investment firm Blackstone Group LP, could not be reached for comment. Wasserman Media did not return calls.
Joe King of Madison also represented the tenant. The landlord was represented by Hunt Barnett, Beau Rawi and Chris Houge of Madison.
Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.
