Optimus Properties is jumping on the “microunit” trend with its new apartment building. The Century City real estate investment company paid $2.5 million for a Mid-Wilshire building where the 15 units range from 350 to 500 square feet.
“That’s the trend nowadays, since rents are so high,” said K. Joseph Shabani, a principal at Optimus. “If they want to live in the city and close to work, in Beverly Hills or downtown, then they can live in these units.”
Marcus & Millichap’s Steven Goldstein and Michael DiSimone represented the seller, a family that owned the North Ogden Drive site since its construction in 1938.
Goldstein said the sale involved detective work to track down title documents from the 1940s and ’50s. The building was originally built with six units and split into smaller apartments over time.
Optimus, which represented itself, plans to renovate the units as they empty out and hike the rents to market rate, as it has done with its dozen apartment properties across Los Angeles.
The deal marks the first time the company has set out to spruce up teeny-sized units, but Shabani is banking on the appeal of cheaper rents compared with others in the area. The new rents have not yet been set but current rates range from $750 to $980.
Most of the buildings in the area have no more than eight units, said Goldstein, so the Ogden property could offer an affordable way to live in a high-demand area.
Optimus is keeping an eye out for other properties in Mid-Wilshire, the Fairfax District, Koreatown, and West Hollywood.
“We’ll take a C asset and turn it into an A or A-minus, and there’s a demand in those markets,” Shabani said.
Auto Hub
Playa Vista’s last megaparcel sold for $83 million to auto dealer Hooman Nissani, who plans to build at least eight dealerships across its nine acres.
Lincoln Property Co. will develop the Hooman Urban Auto Park at the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard with designs by Gensler.
“We believe it’s one of the last large parcels left in the L.A. metro area,” said Nissani. “We’re going to take our time in the next few years and figure out what is the best use for the neighborhood and the residents, and put together something that everyone can be proud of.”
Nissani said he valued the site’s visibility from the freeway and access to neighborhoods across the Westside, including the fast-growing tech hub of Playa Vista.
David Binswanger, executive vice president at Lincoln, said his firm would work with Nissani over the next several months to consider residential, hotel, and office possibilities for the site as well.
“We’re going to do what’s right for the community and what’s right in the market,” he said.
The transaction took three years to complete, said Nissani’s attorney Roger Howard of Glaser Weil, who teamed with attorney Carolyn Jordan to push the project through escrow.
“This is one of the most complex transactions I’ve worked on,” said Howard, who has practiced real estate law for 40 years. “It’s going to be one of the most exciting developments in the car industry in Southern California.”
The process was complicated by potential investors and lenders cycling in and out of planning. In the end, Antonio Hachem of Pacific Southwest Realty Services arranged financing for $64 million and Nissani funded the rest. His brother Rayan Nissani is a partner in the project, which will replace a vacant retail strip.
Although plans are still in the works, Hooman Nissani estimates that the final development will generate $700 million in annual sales with 900 employees on site. The idea is to build multilevel structures as opposed to traditional dealerships that sprawl flatly across dozens of acres.
While he will approach traditional carmakers Honda and Nissan, Nissani said he is also reaching out to Tesla Motors Inc. and driverless car manufacturers.
Hooman Automotive Group, based in Culver City, operates five dealerships across Los Angeles.
Broadway Beckons
Development of the massive Broadway Trade Center in downtown could be poised to speed up renovation and leasing plans with a new loan in hand. Jamestown, an Atlanta real estate investment firm, is putting up $165 million for co-owners Waterbridge Capital and Jack Jangana. Through their ownership group Broadbridge LA, they picked up the 1.1 million-square-foot complex for $125 million in 2014. The developers then embarked on sweeping renovations to the 1908 building. Plans call for office space, high-end retailers, hotel rooms, a roof park, and a food hall. The site sits among Broadway’s historic theaters, including the Tower Theater, where Apple Inc. is reportedly considering opening a store.
Staff reporter Daina Beth Solomon can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.
