Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown’s office vacancy rate narrowed significantly in the first quarter, dipping to 16.6 percent from 17.9 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 18.3 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents rose slightly to $3.47 a square foot from $3.32 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 148,000 square feet.
Main Events
-Parking lot developer L&R Group, operator of Joe’s Auto Parks, paid $30 million, or $500 a square foot, for a 1.5-acre site in South Park.
-Bonnis Properties of Vancouver, British Columbia, bought a 1920s-era, 13-story tower in the Jewelry District for $52 million.
-Lincoln Property Co. bought a 22-story office tower for $128.5 million, with plans to do a light renovation on the 390,312-square-foot property.
-Law firm Paul Hastings signed a renewal for 140,000 square feet at City National Plaza.
Hollywood
Hollywood’s office vacancy rate shrunk in the first quarter, reaching 20.9 percent from 21.7 percent in the prior quarter, but showed a leap compared with 12.7 percent in the year-earlier period. Still, Class A rents rose, hitting $4.26 a square foot over $3.84 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 8,600 square feet. There are 889,300 square feet under construction.
Main Events
-New York’s Tishman Speyer bought the CNN building on Sunset Boulevard for $127 million, paying $622 a square foot for the 204,000-square-foot tower.
-Netflix Inc. signed a lease for 123,000 square feet in the Icon building on Sunset Boulevard, which is still under construction, adding to its previous lease there of 200,000 square feet.
-Clarion Partners bought the 87,759-square-foot Hollywood Media Campus for $46.6 million.
Westside
The Westside’s office vacancy rate increased a bit in the first quarter, climbing to 13.5 percent from 13.2 percent in the prior quarter, but was still lower than the 13.9 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents jumped to $4.62 a square foot from $4.14 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 50,000 square feet. There are 847,300 square feet under construction.Main Events
-Douglas Emmett Inc. bought four Westwood office towers with partner Qatar Investment Authority for $1.34 billion, or $620 a square foot, and now controls the majority of office space in Westwood.
-International Creative Management signed a lease for 108,259 square feet in Century City, planning to relocate to a tower on Constellation Place.
-CormackHill of Vancouver, British Columbia, bought the 29,000-square-foot Fred Segal retail property on Melrose Avenue for $43 million.
Santa Clarita Valley
The Santa Clarita Valley’s office vacancy rate dipped in the first quarter, reaching 12.6 percent from 12.9 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 13.1 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents rose slightly, to $2.73 a square foot from $2.65 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 7,000 square feet. Main Events
-Insurance Co. of the West signed a lease for 10,186 square feet in Valencia.
-Valencia Industrial Park bought the Valencia Stanford Industrial Park in Valencia for $6 million.
-D-Rock bought a 16,763-square-foot industrial space in Valencia for $2 million.
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley’s office vacancy rate rose in the first quarter, hitting 13.6 percent from 13 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 15.2 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents ticked up to $2.70 a square foot over $2.60 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 183,000 square feet. There are 121,000 square feet under construction.
Main Events
-Accounting firm Duffy Kruspodin & Co. signed a lease for 15,663 square feet on Ventura Boulevard in Encino.
-California Home Builders bought the Woodland Hills Shopping Center, with 28,557 square feet, for $27.9 million.
-Vigen Yahgobi bought a 9,000-square-foot office building in Van Nuys for $1.63 million.
Tri-Cities
The office vacancy rate in the Pasadena-Burbank-Glendale market dropped in the first quarter, hitting 12.7 percent from 13.5 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 15.3 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents rose slightly, to $2.99 a square foot from $2.84 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 112,000 square feet.
Main Events
-CBRE Global Investors bought the Pasadena Towers from Beacon Capital Partners for $257 million, or $585 a square foot – a record office price for Pasadena. The three-building complex totals 815,736 square feet.
-DineEquity Inc., parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP, expanded to 31,886 square feet on Brand Boulevard in Glendale.
-Goldstein Planting Investments bought the Golden State Medical Building in Burbank, with 95,703 square feet, for $48 million.
Wilshire Corridor
The Wilshire Corridor’s office vacancy rate slimmed in the first quarter, dipping to 18.6 percent from 19.1 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 19.2 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents rose slightly to $2.67 a square foot from $2.48 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 52,000 square feet. There are 356,000 square feet under construction.
Main Events
-Stockdale Capital Partners bought a 140,054-square-foot medical building on West Third Street for $452.3 million.
-Jamison Services Inc. bought a 142,292-square-foot office building on Wilshire Boulevard for $20 million.
-The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan renewed a lease for 26,711 square feet on Wilshire Boulevard.
South Bay
The South Bay’s office vacancy rate narrowed by about a point in the first quarter, dipping to 19.6 percent from 20.5 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 21.7 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents stayed about even, rising by a cent to $2.44 a square foot from the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 174,000 square feet. There are 96,000 square feet under construction.
Main Events
-Defense contractor TASC Inc. of Chantilly, Va., signed a lease for 43,108 square feet of office space in El Segundo.
-Real estate investment firm Bolour Associates bought a 113,694-square-foot office building for $48.2 million, or $424 a square foot, in El Segundo.
-Mobile game developer Nexon America renewed its lease for 46,741 square feet in El Segundo.
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley’s office vacancy rate slimmed in the first quarter, dipping to 12.3 percent from 12.9 percent in the prior quarter, and compared with 13.8 percent in the year-earlier period. Class A rents rose slightly to $2.45 a square foot from $2.17 in the first quarter last year. Net absorption was 64,400 square feet.
Main Events
-Buchanan Street Partners bought the 162,339-square-foot Gateway Corporate Center in Diamond Bar for $44 million.
-Warner Pacific Properties bought the Shamrock Center in Monrovia, a 97,497-square-foot retail complex, for $13.7 million.
-American Flying Dragon Investment Inc. bought the Vista Palms multifamily building in
San Gabriel for $4.2 million.
