The largest investor in Los Angeles County real estate last year was Brentwood-based Douglas Emmett & Co., edging out Equity Office Properties.

The company, founded in 1971 by Dan Emmett and Jon Douglas and bought out by Jon Douglas in 1990, invested $329 million in L.A. County properties, compared to $325 million by Equity Office Properties. Hines’ investments totaled $229 million during 1999.

Douglas Emmett, now owned by Chris Anderson, Ken Panzer, Dan Emmett and Jordan Kaplan, purchased the 400,000-square-foot City National Bank building in the San Fernando Valley for $70 million last year. The firm also bought the 250,000-square-foot property at 100 Wilshire Blvd. for $90 million.

Other transactions last year included the purchase of the 360,000-square-foot 1801 Century Park East property for $75 million, the 550-unit Santa Monica Shores apartment building for $95 million, and another 111-unit rental property at 555 Barrington for $30 million. Douglas Emmett & Co. also bought the 417,000-square-foot Encino Terrace for $50 million and the 200,000-square-foot One Westwood for $30 million.

The 300-employee Douglas Emmett & Co. owns a portfolio worth $2.5 billion, with a total of 10 million square feet of space. The tightly focused investors favor high-end suburban markets in Los Angeles and own properties in Brentwood, Century City, Westwood, Glendale and Burbank.

One of the largest property owners in Beverly Hills, Douglas Emmett also is the largest owner of property on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, the dominant owner along San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, and the largest owner in downtown Santa Monica.