A native development company that left Los Angeles in the late ’80s has returned, and is building a $100 million-plus condominium project in Marina del Rey.
Crescent Heights of America Inc. developed about 35 condominium projects in Southern California during the early 1980s but left later in the decade to pursue projects in Miami Beach, Atlanta and New York City.
Last summer, Crescent Heights which now has offices in Beverly Hills bought a high-rise condominium project from Goldrich & Kest Industries that was under construction. The new owner is completing the work and upgrading the interiors, said Bruce Menin, principal with Crescent Heights. The Regatta Seaside Residences is expected to be completed next fall.
“Our M.O. is to go into markets early in the day when the markets are starting to kick up, and L.A. is starting to kick up,” Menin said. “All the signs were there that this would be a good opportunity for us and the customer.”
It’s the first luxury high-rise condo development in L.A. in about seven years, he said. Reservations have already been taken on 50 of the 224 units, which run from the $400,000s to more than $1 million. They feature ocean and city views, concierge service, a pool and fitness center, as well as high-tech wiring.
Crescent Heights has sold about 7,000 condo units in the past decade. One notable residential project is called the Exchange, a converted 1898 office building in Manhattan’s Wall Street district.
Besides the Regatta, Crescent Heights has two other projects in Los Angeles. It expects to break ground early next year on the 93-unit Remington condo project on Wilshire Boulevard, and it is in the process of obtaining entitlements for a boutique hotel it hopes to build on the Sunset Strip.
Hollywood action
Two more development projects are in the works for Hollywood.
Michael Broadley, a real estate investor and developer from New Zealand, plans to convert the former Petersen Publishing office building on Sunset Boulevard into a hotel and develop a new nightclub at the Ivar Theater.
Broadley has an option to purchase the 80,000-square-foot Petersen office building, at 6725 Sunset Blvd., from Capital Salvage for $3 million, and has hired Marina del Rey-based architect Stephen Francis Jones to handle the remodel.
Broadley said he targeted the 35-year-old property because it’s within walking distance of TrizecHahn Corp.’s entertainment-retail project now under construction at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
His plan is to convert the building into a boutique hotel oriented to film-industry employees from out of town who need a place to stay during a shoot. There will be standard hotel rooms as well as suites with kitchenettes, along with several conference rooms, said Jones, whose other projects include the restaurants Spago in Beverly Hills and Typhoon in Santa Monica.
Broadley plans to reopen the Ivar Theater, which has lately been home to the Opium Den nightclub. Upon reopening, the building will known as the Liquid Lounge club.
Big land deal
Lowe Enterprises will likely be the new owner and developer of 105 acres near the Hawthorne Airport.
Northrop Grumman Corp., which owns the land, has selected Lowe to enter into an agreement to purchase the property, said Doug Hinchliffe, a principal with Lowe.
“It represents a terrific opportunity from our perspective. You don’t run across sites that large in an urban context very often,” Hinchliffe said.
The property is south of the Century (105) Freeway and east of Crenshaw Boulevard and has 1.3 million square feet of existing structures, including three buildings that are currently occupied by engineering and manufacturing operations and office workers. There are also older buildings on the site that are no longer being used, some of which Lowe plans to demolish.
“Our vision is to develop a plan for that property that would be mixed use, with retail, office and warehouse,” Hinchliffe said.
Northrop received about a dozen offers after it put out a request for bids in late September. The aerospace company plans to rent back some of the buildings as it gradually relocates.
Buying spree continues
Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors now has its sights set on the 15-story Westwood Place office tower on Wilshire Boulevard. Douglas Emmett is purchasing the building for about $48 million from a partnership that includes the Held family, real estate sources said.
It also is negotiating to buy two Century City office towers 1900 and 1901 Avenue of the Stars for $225 million, as well as the Encino Terrace Center and McNeil Plaza on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.
News & notes
Carriage Inn Investors of Beverly Hills has leased a 184-room hotel at 5525 Sepulveda Blvd. with an option to purchase from San Diego-based Atlas Hotels. The transaction is valued at $8.4 million. Carriage Inn plans to convert the hotel to a Best Western. Jordan Richman and Irwin Woldman of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the both sides in the deal. Chokyu USA, an import-export firm based in Japan, has acquired a 46,400-square-foot freight-forwarding building in Inglewood for more than $3 million. About 50 people will be employed at the building, which will serve as an expansion of the firm’s U.S. headquarters. Harvey Beesen and Luke Staubitz of The Klabin Co. represented Chokyu. The Oakstone Co. represented the seller, Beach Ivy Truck Terminal. CIM Group has sold 15,000 square feet of vacant land on Second Street in Santa Monica to a partnership formed by Barry Beitler, president of Beitler Commercial Realty Services, for $3.2 million $216 per square foot. John Bertram and Luke Palmo of Westmac Commercial Brokerage Co. represented CIM.
Elizabeth Hayes can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 229.
