Honda R&D Americas Inc. is moving one of its design studios to downtown Los Angeles, only steps from L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The company, a unit of America Honda Motor Co. Inc., signed a five-year deal last week for about 6,500-square-feet on the ground floor of 901 S. Flower St., a funky postmodern structure known as the Apex building. Terms of the deal with ST Residential, a subsidiary of Starwood Capital Group of Chicago, were not disclosed. Monthly rates at the building are about $4.50 a square foot, according to CoStar Group Inc.
The studio, known as the Honda Advanced Design Studio, had been at 39 N. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena, in the same amount of space, since 2006. But Honda wanted to move, in part to be near the bustling scene and Convention Center, site of the annual L.A. Auto Show.
“Honda was attracted to the unique design and architecture of the Apex building and because of its central location in downtown L.A. South Park district,” said Adam Tischer, vice president at Colliers International downtown, who represented the landlord.
Studio employees design some of the company’s most advanced cars. Among the studio’s notable recent creations is the latest version of the Acura NSX, a hybrid four-wheel-drive sports car that debuted at in a Super Bowl commercial.
The Flower Street building is six stories and contains 77 residential lofts at the corner of Ninth Street. It was completed in 2010 after the original developer, Sonny Astani, lost control of the project, which includes another building.
Mark Tarczynski at Colliers also represented ST. Dan Feldman at Colliers represented Honda.
Kodak Sales
Eastman Kodak Co. sold two Hollywood buildings and parking lots that had sat vacant for the last two years.
New York hedge fund Harbinger Holdings bought the properties at 823 and 835 N. Seward St. for $8 million last month, according to CoStar. The new owner has hired architecture firm Shubin & Donaldson Architects Inc. to transform the properties into a campus for its entertainment production company. The two-story buildings total 25,000 square feet and are on nearly an acre.
Kodak had been using them for its former Laser Pacific Media Corp. subsidiary, a post-production company that has provided services for shows including “Mad Men” and “Good Wife.” H.I.G. Capital LLC’s Telecorps bought Laser Pacific two years ago and vacated the buildings.
Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and has been selling assets as it restructures. Earlier this year it also pulled out of a deal with CIM Group Inc. for naming rights at its theater at the Hollywood and Highland Center.
The Rochester, N.Y. company has other properties for sale in Los Angeles. Among them is its fully occupied 102,800-square-foot office campus at 1017 N. Las Palmas Ave. in Hollywood.
Travers Realty Corp. Lee Polster represented Harbinger. Rob Waller and Patrick Amos of CBRE Inc. represented Kodak.
USC Setback
USC’s $1.1 billion plan to redevelop its aging University Village shopping center into a mixed-use center has suffered a setback but the university is pushing forward with the project.
The 35-acre Village at USC is planned to replace the 200,000-square-foot University Village shopping center on the outskirts of campus. It would feature about 5,200 student beds, a half-million square feet of classrooms, 350,000 square feet of shops, a multiplex theater, plus a hotel and conference center.
The L.A. City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee met on Aug. 21 to decide whether to send the project to the full council for approval. But community opposition prompted the committee to postpone a vote pending a report addressing community concerns. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18.
At issue is an affordable housing fund that the university has agreed to provide as part of its larger $26 million community benefits package. The affordable housing component was originally $2 million and has been upped to $8 million, according to Thomas Sayles, USC’s senior vice president of university relations.
However, community groups have asked for a $20 million housing fund. They are concerned the project will drive out local residents by making the area more attractive and raising the price of rental housing. The university disputes the contention.
Staff reporter Jacquelyn Ryan can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 228.
