Punch Studio LLC is expanding its headquarters in Culver City after acquiring a 41,000-square-foot building that is adjacent to the stationery and gift company’s offices. The $10.8 million deal with seller Kerdman-Slauson Associates GP closed in mid-March.
The two-story building at 6025 Slauson Ave. will serve as a design studio and administrative offices. Punch plans to connect the building to its existing facilities with a 12,000-square-foot warehouse slated to be built next year, said company owner Todd Kirshner.
Punch also plans to refresh the facades and remodel the Slauson building’s interior space. Once all the work is completed next year – at an expected cost of $4.5 million – Punch’s facilities will total 140,000 square feet on the four-acre property.
The sale breaks down to a robust $263 per square foot. Kirshner said it was important that he consolidate Punch’s operations at the site, which led him to pay perhaps more than others might have offered.
“I don’t think it would be easy to get that price (from someone else). But, I’m a user, and it makes a big difference. I wanted to keep the operation together,” Kirshner said.
The building has a 40,000-square-foot subterranean garage that Punch plans to use for additional warehouse space. The large garage is not accounted for in the building’s square footage, which means the effective price of the property was lower.
“If you try to replicate this thing, I don’t think it was really that much of a premium,” said Stan Gerlach of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., who represented the seller, a Southern California investor. The building had been previously occupied by Sony Corp., which vacated it in the fall.
Punch’s broker, Doug Marshall of Klabin Co., said that the property is also valuable because it fronts the off-ramp of the Marina (90) Freeway, offering high visibility for the stationary manufacturer.
“(Kirshner) was looking for six months or so, so it solved a problem for him,” Marshall said.
Ron Rader of Klabin also represented Punch, and the seller was also represented by Jeff Pion, Bryan Dunne and Michelle Esquivel-Hart of CB Richard Ellis.
The seller could not be reached for comment.
Condo Deal
Sycamore Urban Properties has acquired an unfinished condominium project just outside West Hollywood after buying the note New Year’s Eve. The Irvine developer plans to complete the building at 817 N. Alfred St. and sell the condos this summer.
Sycamore purchased the note from an unnamed lender and worked with the developer to acquire the property in mid-March using a deed-in-lieu transaction, said Sycamore President Mitchell Bradford. He declined to disclose the price Sycamore paid for the note but said his company “received a substantial discount from the face outstanding amount.”
A deed-in-lieu transaction allows for the speedy and voluntary transfer of a property’s ownership, while allowing the borrower to escape the onus of foreclosure.
Rodeo 3 Development Group LLC of Los Angeles started the project in 2006 but stopped in mid-2009 with construction two-thirds complete. Rodeo 3 could not be reached for comment. The 18-unit project will include a roof deck, fitness facility and lounge. Units will be priced from the high $600,000s to about $750,000, Bradford said.
“The (best) amenity is its location; it’s a block and a half north of Melrose,” he said. “It’s ground zero for a great market area in West Hollywood.”
Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.
Breaking Ground
Quonset Court
829 Broadway, Santa Monica
Developer: NMS Properties Inc. of Westwood
Plans: Quonset Court is a $15 million mixed-use, affordable apartment housing and retail project. The 97-unit development will include 375-square-foot studio apartments atop 7,000 square feet of retail. Units include relatively high-end stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. The project architect is Killefer Flammang Architects.
Completion: The project broke ground two weeks ago and construction is expected to take 20 months.
Pricing: The units will be rented from $1,110 to $1,388 in compliance with Santa Monica’s affordable housing program, said NMS President Neil Shekhter. This is NMS’ third affordable housing project in Santa Monica in recent years; it has two others on Olympic Boulevard.
Preservation: As part of an agreement with Santa Monica, NMS is preserving a historic 300-square-foot Quonset hut on the property. The World War II-era structure was once used as a surplus store and will be leased for unspecified retail.
