The first new office project in Playa del Rey in 20 years is about to break ground.
Demolition of a condemned preschool is scheduled to begin next week to make way for two office buildings totaling 10,000 square feet at 311 and 315 Culver Blvd. Construction of the Strand Offices at Playa del Rey should be completed by spring of next year.
The $6 million speculative project is the first ever for Kimberly Macy, principal of L.A. development company Cove Spring Partners LP. The two three-story buildings are being designed by Mikaela Nagler of MiKA Design Group Inc. in Studio City with the project funded by private investors.
The monthly asking rent on the space will be about $4 a square foot, a little higher than the market average. But Macy said the quality of the construction will be on par with Class A buildings in nearby Santa Monica with similar or higher asking rates.
Macy has been a longtime publicist for real estate companies through her public relations firm Macy & Associates Inc. About 10 years ago, she bought a 4,500-square-foot Playa del Rey building at 411 Culver Blvd., and substantially renovated it into an office complex for her PR firm, which she has operated for more than 20 years.
After her success with that project, she said she was eager to build an office complex in the small beach community. When she saw that the preschool was no longer operational, she bought the property, secured the permits and took a chance.
After decades in public relations, Macy said she wanted to put her experience to practical use in development.
“I’ve seen what’s compelling, what tenants want, and what sells and what doesn’t,” she said. “It’s an incredible location with gorgeous wetlands.”
Stretching Out
Flexible workspace provider Regus is opening its first location in Long Beach.
The company signed a 10-year lease to occupy the entire 18,400-square-foot fourth floor at Landmark Square, a 24-story, Class A office building at 111 W. Ocean Blvd. Financial terms with landlord Brookfield Properties were not disclosed.
The Luxembourg company plans to open the executive offices and meeting space for business people in the South Bay area sometime this summer.
“We are very enthusiastic about our new center in Landmark Square,” said Michael Beretta, vice president of business development in the Americas for Regus. “The quality of the building and location fit perfectly with our strategy to offer flexible workplaces and business services where our clients need it most.”
Regus operates more than 1,100 locations across 85 countries and has several locations around Los Angeles, including two in Rolling Hills and El Segundo.
Jason Fine, a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s El Segundo office who represented Regus, said the company has received several requests from existing clients in Long Beach who would like an office closer to their homes.
“They had a huge demand in Long Beach,” Fine said. “They wanted to fill a void between Orange County and their center in Rolling Hills.”
Jones Lang LaSalle Managing Director Steve Solomon also represented Regus. John Barganski and Toliver Morris represented Brookfield in-house.
Keying In
DoorKing Inc., a manufacturer of electric entry systems, bought an office and industrial building in Inglewood that it has occupied for more than a decade.
The company, headquartered nearby, bought the property at 112 S. Glasgow Ave. for nearly $3 million last month from 26th St. Partners, a private Inglewood company.
The 16,000-square-foot building sold for almost $179 a square foot, making it one of the priciest purchases in Inglewood in the last year. DoorKing owns four buildings and occupies several more nearby that it uses for manufacturing, warehousing and offices.
Randy Kobata, principal of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Inc. who represented both sides in the deal, said that DoorKing had considered consolidating all its operations into one 100,000-square-facility before this sale.
“After considering the cost of moving current operations, down time and lost production, the more cost-effective decision was to acquire this property,” Kobata said. “Even at the price, the purchase made more sense than consolidating.”
Staff reporter Jacquelyn Ryan can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225 x 228.
