Cityview and Second Street Ventures have struck a deal to develop an 84-unit condominium project in West Los Angeles after a prior agreement to develop the site did not go forward.
CityView, a Santa Monica-based real estate investment firm, entered the project in June after Lennar Homes Inc. exited a joint venture it had with Second Street, a Marina del Rey-based developer. CityView is chaired by former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros.
In June, CityView and Second Street paid just north of $10 million to buy out Lennar’s interest in the 120,000-square-foot industrially zoned lot on Tennessee Avenue, between Sawtelle Boulevard and Bundy Drive, said Joel Shine, president of CityView.
Dubbed the Tennessee Avenue Lofts project, it will feature about 80,000 square feet of development, including 84 work/live units, a reception area and conference rooms.
“We think this is important, and it is particularly important on the Westside,” Cisneros said. “It helps transform an industrial district into an area that includes homes.”
The development would be near the Metro Rail’s proposed light rail Exposition Line, which has a planned extension from Culver City to Santa Monica in its second phase after 2009.
The site is currently occupied by warehouse space that had last been used by several tenants, including a clothing manufacturer that has gone out of business. The project, represented by Lisa Specht of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, is expected to come before the city’s Planning Commission in September as it still needs to be re-zoned for commercial use.
“We’ve really worked with the community to talk through issues we have and they have been really supportive of the project,” said Second Street President Adam Browning. “The work/live concept in the area is interesting because a great number of employers on the Westside are small businesses.”
The developers hope to begin construction in late 2007 or early 2008. CityView and Lennar brokered their deal directly.
Home Depot Purchase
Home improvements retailer Home Depot Inc. has paid in excess of $60 million for a 20-acre site in Marina del Rey that was owned by the United States Postal Service.
The property at 13031 W. Jefferson Blvd. includes a two-story 298,490 square-foot warehouse and office building and is across the street from an existing Home Depot retail store.
The retailer is looking for a temporary tenant to use the building, and may build another Home Depot or concept store in the future, said Kathryn Gallagher, public relations managers for the company’s Western Division.
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. Senior Vice President Blake Mirkin who represented the Postal Service in the transaction said the site attracted a high number of prospective buyers resulting in its unusually high price.
“There were probably in excess of 40 very qualified offers for the property,” Mirkin said. “They ranged from residential developers to office developers, industrial, retail and other users. It’s rare that something like this happens.”
CB First Vice President Robert Dubbins also represented the Postal Service, while Mike Jensen and Ryan Sullivan of Pacific Retail Partners represented The Home Depot. CB also has been tapped to arrange short-term leasing at the existing building.
Mirkin said the purchase reflects the emerging importance of Playa Vista.
“Playa Vista is being built as almost a new city and it is truly a gateway to the South Bay and the Westside,” Mirkin said. “This is an area that is changing dramatically and is becoming fully amenitized. It is an area where people live, work, and exist, instead of an area that people just pass through.”
South Bay Warehouse
San Francisco-based industrial property developer and manager AMB Property Corp. has purchased a 64,200-square-foot warehouse in Gardena from Los Angeles-based TQ Properties. AMB was interested in the site because of its proximity to the interchange of the Century (105) and Harbor (110) freeways, said Sean O’Donnell of Grubb & Ellis Co.’s South Bay office, who represented TQ in the deal.
“It caught AMB’s eye the opportunity to buy a fairly new building,” O’Donnell said. “It shows their continued appetite for good warehouse sites.”
The property at 13200 Broadway St. is now called the AMB Zuma Distribution center, and features a two-story warehouse that was built in 2002. The building was 100 percent leased at the time of the transaction.
Design Firm Selected
Johnson Fain Partners has been selected by Culver City to create development guidelines for the area surrounding the planned Exposition Line light rail station at Washington Boulevard and National Boulevard.
The Los Angeles-based architecture, planning, and interior design firm has conducted three community workshops to gauge response to proposals for a mixed-use development at the Washington-National transit area.
The firm expects to complete the Specific Plan a document that adopts standards for development by October after a final community workshop is held, said Johnson Fain managing partner William Fain.
Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at
[email protected]
or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.
