REAL ESTATE—Creative Office Renovations Creeping Farther to the East

0

Creative office conversions are moving east from Santa Monica.

Beverly Hills-based PMI Properties purchased the 24,400-square-foot office building at 10951 Pico Blvd. in West L.A., a block west of the Westside Pavilion. The Center for Law in the Public Interest Foundation sold the building for about $3.55 million.

PMI, which has done several Westside creative office conversions, plans to give the fa & #231;ade a contemporary look, add windows and convert offices inside to creative office space, with high ceilings and exposed structural work, wood floors, operable windows and designer lighting.

Jeffrey Palmer, a partner at PMI, said the building will be renamed the Soho Creative Offices “to reflect its soon-to-be look.”

“This is what we consider on the fringes of the outgrowth from Santa Monica,” said Palmer, who also developed the Penn Station project in Santa Monica. “The area is very convenient to the Westside and rich in amenities, but it’s an overlooked area. We are pioneering.”

Barry Gordon of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer and seller.

Further evidence of the trend is that the owner of Westside Pavilion, Macerich Co., is contemplating converting some space in the mall’s adjacent outdoor retail center into creative office space.

Grocery Shopping

Regency Realty Corp. a leading owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored shopping centers has sold two properties.

The real estate investment trust sold its newly redeveloped Hawthorne Plaza shopping center in Hawthorne for $20 million to a group of local investors. The center is anchored by Albertson’s and Sav-on Drugs stores, with Taco Bell, Starbucks, Hollywood Video and Athlete’s Foot as other tenants. The 104,000-square-foot center is located at Hawthorne and El Segundo boulevards on property that was formerly part of the Hawthorne Mall. Regency began a $17.3 million redevelopment project in 1998, creating the first shopping center built in the area in 20 years.

Regency also sold a 3.63-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Long Beach Boulevard and San Antonio Drive in the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach. Ralphs Grocery Co. bought the property for $8.5 million.

Regency intended to develop the parcel, which it purchased last year, but decided instead to sell. Ralphs plans to open a new supermarket with gourmet delicatessen and bakery there.

Richard Rizika of CB Richard Ellis Inc. represented the buyer and seller in the Long Beach deal.

Hollywood Dealing

World of Wonder Productions has purchased a landmark building on Hollywood Boulevard, and plans to move its headquarters into the top floor.

The film and TV production company purchased the building, at 6650 Hollywood Blvd. (at Cherokee Avenue), for just under $3 million from SDH Properties LLC.

The Shane Building was the first home of the Directors Guild of America. The 35,000-square-foot Art Deco structure was built in the 1930s and has four stories of office space, ground-floor retail and the former Ritz Movie Theater, which now houses a church.

“There’s the whole renaissance of the boulevard. It’s a great place for us to get in,” said Randy Barbato, principal of World of Wonder.

The company directed and produced the current film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” as well as numerous television programs and films, including “Hollywood Fashion Machine.” And the company manages singer-actor-supermodel RuPaul.

Tenants in the building include Oil Factory, a music video producer; Ready Net Set, an Internet startup; and the Ritz, a new luncheonette caf & #233; owned by Michelle Lamy, who also owns the Hollywood hotspot Les Deux Cafes.

Jeff Luster of Major Properties represented World of Wonder in the sale. Stephen Sisca of the Wilshire Corp. represented the seller.

Genesis Deal

The Genesis L.A. Real Estate Fund, managed by Shamrock Holdings, has closed its first deal.

L.A.-based Accord Interests LLC obtained $3 million in equity capital through the fund, said Andrew Levant of George Smith Partners, who arranged the financing.

Accord is using the money, along with some debt financing, to purchase the former ABC Studios property on Vine Street in Hollywood from AIDS Project Los Angeles, which now occupies the site.

Accord plans to redevelop the property into a 300,000-square-foot creative office campus.

The Genesis fund is part of a public-private partnership that targets developments in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

Church Lease

The Worldwide Church of God, a fixture in Pasadena for decades, has decided to relocate to San Dimas. The church is in negotiations to lease one of the three buildings at Via Verde Corporate Plaza, or about 54,000 square feet of space.

The church, whose membership has shrunk in recent years, is selling its scenic Ambassador College campus to Legacy Partners. Legacy expects to close the $100 million sale by Dec. 15, and plans to transform the campus into a large commercial and residential development, while preserving Ambassador Auditorium and several historical mansions.

Bill Boyd and Linda Lee of Grubb & Ellis Co. are representing the church.

In the Market

NetZero Inc., which currently occupies two buildings in Westlake Village, is looking to consolidate under one roof in the same general area.

The Internet service provider has apparently outgrown its current space and is scouring the market from Thousand Oaks to Westlake for between 100,000 and 125,000 square feet, or about double its current space.

NetZero is being represented by Matthew Miller of Cresa Partners, who declined comment.

Industrial Strength

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. has leased 150,000 square feet of industrial space at Investment Development Services’ Conejo Spectrum in Newbury Park. Total consideration for the 10-year lease is $10 million.

Ken Ashen and Michael Slater of CB Richard Ellis represented Alcatel, while Colliers Seeley’s John DeGrinis represented IDS.

Elizabeth Hayes can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 229, or at [email protected].

No posts to display