Anschutz Sells Retail, Residential Property Near Staples

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The Moinian Group has purchased a significant piece of downtown property near Staples Center from Anschutz Entertainment Group.


The transaction closed Aug. 11, with New York-based Moinian paying in the neighborhood of $78 million for a 4.6 acre property now being used for event parking near Staples Center, for which AEG is the majority owner, according to sources close to the deal.


The property, which is across Figueroa Street from Staples, has been entitled for 250,000 square feet of retail space and 700 condominium/apartment units, for a total of 1.1 million square feet. Moinian may decide to increase the number of condominiums or apartments by reducing the size of each unit. It also is considering adding a small boutique hotel to the project, sources said.


Commercial builder LNR Property Corp. had attempted to acquire the property several months ago, teaming up with homebuilders Lennar Corp. and KB Home. But the deal came apart when KB instead decided to build 216 condominiums atop the planned Marriot Marquis and Ritz Carlton.


AEG spokesman Michael Roth and the Moinian Group declined to comment on the transaction. Rich Mayo of O’Donnell/Atkins, who represented The Moinian Group, also declined comment.



UCLA Housing Draws Premium


A division of Irving, Texas-based JPI, one of the nation’s largest rental housing developers, has paid nearly $23 million for a distinctive 33-unit Westwood apartment complex near UCLA.


Each four-bedroom unit at the Jefferson at Midvale Apartments can house six to eight students, who share a large living, dining and kitchen area and rent on a per-bed basis. Unlike informal per-bed arrangements often seen around campus, the two-year-old complex at 433 S. Midvale Ave. was designed for such an arrangement, unusual for student housing in Los Angeles.


While the purchase price is appreciably higher than similar recent apartment sales in that submarket, Pat Riley, who handles West Coast student housing acquisitions for JPI Student Housing, said when considered on a per-bed rental basis, the property offers significant revenue growth potential.


“There’s been nothing like it on the market for years,” said Riley, noting that JPI had been looking to enter the Los Angeles student housing market for several years. “It’s a market that once people get into they don’t want to leave because units are 100 percent full all the time.”


William and Clark Everitt at Encino-based Investment Real Estate Associates represented both the buyer and the seller, a private individual, in the deal.



Brokerage Suit Settled


The parent of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Co. has settled a lawsuit over a $250 fee that its home buyers paid as part of their transactions.


Buyers who purchased residential property in Los Angeles County and six other Southern California counties between Oct. 16, 1998 and July 21, 2006 and paid a “transaction coordinator” or a “documentation compliance” fee are entitled to $200 as part of the settlement. Coldwell Banker has agreed to stop charging the fee, and mailers announcing the settlement have been sent to past clients.


Rajeev P. Shrestha filed the suit against Coldwell Banker and its parent, NRT Inc. in San Diego County Superior Court. Shrestha alleged that Coldwell Banker “engaged in unfair business practices and breached their fiduciary duties” by charging the fee. Coldwell Banker denied the claims.



Inland Empire Office Parks


Construction will begin early next year on three large office park projects in fast growing Rancho Cucamonga following the Rockefeller Group Development Corp.’s purchase of land on Pittsburgh Avenue and Haven Avenue.


Newport Beach-based Collins Commercial will sell the properties on behalf of New York-based Rockefeller once construction is complete, said Dan Foye, vice president of Collins Commercial.


Rockefeller plans to build 20 office buildings on the three sites, for a total 230,000 square feet of office space. The approximate purchase price for the 14.38 acres of land was $12 million.


The Pittsburgh Avenue project will include eight office buildings, ranging in size from 4,500 square feet to 18,800 square feet. Construction is slated to begin in January on the vacant lot. Carol Plowman of Ontario-based Lee and Associates had the listing for seller Roshan Properties Inc. Escrow closed in March.


The Haven Avenue project will also include eight buildings and construction there is scheduled to begin in March. Eric Ramirez of MGR Services Inc., had the listing for seller Haven Building Materials LLC. A 10,000-square-foot building currently occupies the property, Foye said. Escrow closed in April.


The third project, located at Haven Avenue and Jersey Boulevard, will feature four buildings, including a 28,800- square-foot office building, the largest building in the three projects. Construction is slated to begin in May on the vacant lot. Steve Wheatley of Del Mar Brokerage in Rancho Cucamonga had the listing for Scheu Living Trust. Escrow closed in May.


Foye said the selling price of the office parks will only be set once construction has begun a reflection of escalating construction costs. Foye said that offers have already come in for the properties.


Foye, Rick John and Gus Andros of Collins Commercial brokered the deal for the Rockefeller Group.



Condo Project


Los Angeles-based developer Witmer Development LLC has purchased a 44,000-square-foot development site at 1247 West Seventh St. in downtown Los Angeles from Service Employees International Union Local 1877 in a transaction valued at $8.9 million. Witmer plans to redevelop the property into a multi-unit condominium project. The sales team of Phillip Sample, Chris Caras, Michael Shustak, Maury Gentile and Brian Denton at Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction.



Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext 263, or at

[email protected]

. Staff reporter Deborah Crowe contributed to this column.

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