Lexington Commercial Holdings, the investment company of former billionaire Louis Gonda, has sold off its second property in recent months.
A six-story, Class A office building at 9300 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills traded hands July 23 in an off-market deal. RP Properties, a Beverly Hills real estate investment company, purchased the building for about $11 million.
The sale provides a cash infusion for Gonda, whose wealth is tied to shares of American International Group Inc., the giant New York insurance company that saw its stock plummet in the fall when it needed a massive bailout from the government.
The 58,484-square-foot building is on a ground lease with about 30 years remaining that is controlled by the trust of an unnamed family, said Bob Safai of Madison Partners, who represented RP.
The deal breaks down to $188 per square foot, lower than recent sales of other similar Beverly Hills buildings not on ground leases.
“The pricing is a reflection of the terms of the ground lease and the market,” said Safai, whose company also will handle building leasing.
The property is about 96 percent leased with 1,200- and 1,400-square-foot blocks of vacant space. Safai said that RP will move into the building once more becomes available.
In May, Lexington sold a Miracle Mile-area office building for $44 million in one of the biggest commercial real estate sales of the year. It provided a cash infusion to Gonda, whose wealth was estimated by the Business Journal to be as high as $1.1 billion as recently as 2008.
However, the 61-year-old investor has seen his wealth crash now that his 20 million shares of AIG trade at just a fraction of their value prior to the bailout. Gonda received the shares in 1990 as payment for selling an airplane leasing company he co-founded to the insurer.
Lexington Commercial, which represented itself in the deal, declined to comment. RP did not return calls seeking comment.
Cement Listing
The landmark American Cement Building, known for its unique, X-shaped exterior grill structure, has been listed for $25.5 million.
Built in 1964 to house the headquarters of the American Cement Corp., the 2404 Wilshire Blvd. building was purchased by Mika Realty Group in 1989. The owner spent $4 million in 2002 to convert the 13-story office property, which is near downtown Los Angeles, into live-work lofts; most are used as residences.
The concrete exterior structure renders internal supports unnecessary, which provides for open floor plates despite the average 1,600-square-foot size of the lofts. The building overlooks Macarthur Park and offers views of the entire city.
“Three sides of the tower have amazing views starting from the first floor of units,” said broker Adrienne Barr of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. in an e-mail.
Barr, along with Laurie Lustig-Bower and Nancy Badzey, have the listing. The property was put on the market in mid-July.
Unique Sale
A recent mixed-use property sale in Glendale featured a unique structure in which the buyer purchased the building and underlying land from separate sellers all in one transaction.
PacificGlenoaks Investments LLC, an entity controlled by a local pharmacist and doctor, purchased the property at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard from landowner Wuertz Family Trust and building owner Elite Investment Management LLC. The $3.93 million transaction closed in late June.
The pharmacist and doctor will move their practices into the 14,700-square-foot, two-story building, which houses medical office and retail tenants.
The sale brokered for both sides by Kirk Garabedian of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Services Inc. was a long time coming.
The Wuertz Family Trust wanted to sell the half-acre of land more than a year ago, but Garabedian felt the property would be far more attractive if it included the building.
“It was really exciting,” said Garabedian, who noted the deal required separate negotiations and separate written offers.
The deal breaks down to $267 per square foot for the building, which is 82 percent leased. The building first listed at $4.7 million.
Michael Millea of Marcus & Millichap also represented both sides.
The buyer did not return calls seeking comment and the sellers could not be reached for comment.
Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.
