Real Estate Column—Another Westwood Theater Departs, Druggist Steps in

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Another Westwood Village theater is on the way out.

United Artists Westwood, a three-screen theater at Wellworth Avenue and Westwood Boulevard owned by the Nicholson Trust, soon will be replaced by a Sav-On Drugs store.

Ira Handelman, a government and community affairs consultant working for Sav-On, said the national pharmaceutical retailer has signed a 50-year lease for an undisclosed price to take over the theater property.

The $1 million to $1.5 million conversion would begin once Sav-On, owned by Albertson’s Inc., gets a conditional-use permit from the city. Handelman said that should take a few months.

But the process will not go unchallenged.

The Westwood Homeowners Association has expressed concerns with a few of the drug store’s plans, according to Lila Rioth, a nearby resident.

Rioth said the homeowners association is talking with Sav-On representatives about several issues, including use of three-sided marquees on both Wellworth and Westwood as billboards, the location of the store entrance and plans for 24-hour operation.

She said the presence of single-family residences in the immediate area should present concern to Sav-On and city planning officials making decisions on whether to allow the use.

Richard Agay, the association’s president, said Rioth’s concerns need to be addressed, but he didn’t know whether they would be enough to halt the project. He is opposed to the 24-hour operation, but said he’d been assured that if the store is open there would be a pharmacist on duty and the business would not turn into a liquor store.

Handelman said use of the marquees is up for discussion. As for the store’s entrance, well, Sav-On’s plan calls for using the existing theater entrance on Wellworth.

“We’re not changing anything,” he said. “We’re just putting a Sav-On in the building.”


Fund’s First Foray

CIM Group, the Hollywood development and investment group that earlier this year joined forces with the state’s two largest pension funds, has put that alliance to use for the first time.

The group provided a $5.1 million mezzanine loan for a $25 million joint project to build 88 for-sale lofts in downtown Los Angeles. The project will be developed by the Lee Group of Marina del Rey.

The Lee Group bought the Bronson building, an industrial building of 111,000 square feet, at 1140 S. Flower St. near Staples Center and Staples II. Plans for Staples II include a 7,000-seat theater, a 1,200-room hotel, and two apartment towers.

CIM teamed up with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and California State Teachers’ Retirement System last spring to create the CIM Urban Real Estate Fund. The fund includes $125 million from Calpers, $45 million from CalSTRS and $10 million from CIM.

CIM Principal Avi Shemesh said having the $180 million in cash gives the fund the ability to leverage more than $400 million for investment in urban revitalization projects.

Shemesh said the mezzanine loan is the first time the fund has invested in another developer’s project. CIM will be the developer in mixed-used projects in Huntington Beach, San Diego and San Jose.


Restaurant Rant

Back around the first of the year, Dan Ringwood lamented that his Santa Monica landlord was trying to triple his rent and drive Teasers, his restaurant and nightclub on Third Street Promenade, out of business. Nine months later, his worries were realized.

Teasers is closing at the end of November because Century Commercial Brokerage Co. tripled the rent, Ringwood said. After 16 years at the same address, Ringwood said rent at the 6,000-square-foot space would go from the $3 per foot he’s paying to $8.75.

“That’s where we butted heads,” he said. “The highest rate I know (among restaurants) is just north of $6.”

Ernest Kaplan, principal at Century Commercial, said Ringwood declined an offer more than 12 months ago to sign a lease at $5 per foot. Kaplan said there are several restaurants on the Promenade paying market rates for rent, and the issue of who can afford to remain is more about shrewd business operations and not rents.

Already having a rotten 2001 like most everyone on the Promenade, Ringwood said the rent hike was the final straw. He will carry on with his Marina del Rey restaurant, Tony P’s Dockside Grill, but he doesn’t know what’s going to become of the Promenade if landlords continue to price out restaurants, and leave only national retailers with the means to pay rent.

“Do they need Teaser’s? I don’t want to be that selfish, but they need restaurants,” Ringwood said. “Otherwise it’s going to be just a vanilla walkway.”


Commercial Leases

Tissumara & Green Orange Design Inc. signed a five-year, 129,050-square-foot lease valued at $3 million at 2800, 2850, 2860, 2890 and 2900 Sierra Pine Ave. in Vernon. The addresses are in the Western Distribution Center. The landlord, Westcore Industrial Properties, and the tenant represented themselves in the transaction

TD Waterhouse Investor Services Inc. signed a five-year, $1.64 million, 9,000-square-foot lease at 9100 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Doug Fine and Hunt Barnett of Insignia/ESG Inc. represented the TD Waterhouse in the deal. Landlord Arden Realty Inc. was represented in-house by Gayle Landis, senior portfolio leasing manager, and Mike Geller of First Property Realty Corp.

Los Angeles County and Tenet Healthcare Corp. will expand their operations by 31,743 square feet in The Alhambra, a 45-acre, 1 million-square-foot office campus in its namesake city. Combined, the new leases are valued at 10.7 million. The county will increase its space by 24,441 square feet to 206,144 square feet to accommodate the Sheriff’s Department’s internal investigation unit. Tenet is increasing the space for central business operations to 35,483 square feet. Charles Best, certified property manager, represented the county in the deal. Tenet represented itself. Tom Sheets and Eric Hinkelman of Trammell Crow Co. represented The Alhambra

Staff reporter Christopher Keough can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 235 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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