Investors continue to eye the Tri-Cities, which remains one of L.A.’s hottest markets. Two office buildings in the area have traded hands in recent weeks: 701 N. Brand in Glendale and 2 N. Lake in Pasadena.

California Credit Union bought the 130,000-square-foot Glendale building for about $26 million, according to sources. The nine-story building is fully occupied.

And an investment fund sponsored by Grosvenor International purchased the Pasadena office complex for an undisclosed amount. The property consists of a 10-story office tower, the adjacent, four-story historic Lieberg Building, and an eight-level parking garage at Lake and Colorado boulevards.

Trammell Crow Co. built the tower, which is almost fully occupied with finance and insurance firms. The Leiberg building was constructed in 1926 as a department store.

Grosvenor is also co-owner of Citibank Center, at 444 S. Flower St. in downtown L.A., and recently sold the SeaRise Building in Santa Monica and the West Wilshire Office and Medical Center. Grosvenor, an international development, investment and asset management group, is associated with the Grosvenor estate of Great Britain, which traces its heritage back 900 years.

Charles Bruni and Garrett Garcia of LaSalle Partners Inc. Investment Banking Group represented the seller, Tokyo Tatemono (U.S.A.) Inc. In the Pasadena deal, Hayden Eaves, Shaun Stiles and John Minervini represented the buyer.

Seeley exec bows out

Jay Haskell, president and chief executive of the Seeley Co., has resigned to pursue other opportunities, citing “differences in the long-term strategy for the company.”

Haskell’s resignation, effective Jan. 1, comes after 16 years with Seeley. Three veteran company directors David Drummond, Steve Calhoun and William Renwick will oversee day-to-day management of the firm.

Haskell said Seeley was trying to figure out its niche and the impact of remaining a regional firm at a time of globalization in the real estate industry.

“The issue is really a concern of strategy and how you survive an industry that’s going through great consolidation and is pushed by technology,” said Haskell, 53.

During Haskell’s tenure, Seeley grew from four to 10 offices around the L.A. area. Haskell said the company had hit a plateau, but he didn’t believe anyone wanted to merge with another firm.

“I feel very good about my accomplishments at the company,” he said.

Unova deal in final stage

Global Crossing Ltd., which plans to lay four separate underwater fiber-optic cables, is in final discussions with Unova Inc. to buy its Beverly Hills headquarters, real estate sources said. It was listed for about $40 million.

Unova announced in September it was relocating to Woodland Hills, saying the two-building Colonial-style campus on Little Santa Monica Boulevard was too big for only 80 employees.

Global Crossing is reportedly spending about $2.8 billion on a trans-oceanic cable connecting the United States to Europe, Asia and Latin America. It eventually plans to provide phone and data service to the top 100 cities in the world.

New network in town

Telemundo Group Inc. has relocated its corporate headquarters from Hialeah, Fla. to Santa Monica, following the sale of the network to an investment group that includes Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corp. The network will occupy 17,000 square feet at the Water Garden, at 2425 Olympic Blvd.

Telemundo, one of only two Spanish-language broadcast networks in the United States, operates in 59 markets.

Gary Weiss, senior managing director in the Los Angeles office of Julien J. Studley Inc., represented Telemundo in the transaction. The five-year lease is valued at about $3 million. Building owner J.P. Morgan was represented by Lisa St. John of Tooley & Co.

New action in Hollywood

Hollywood is getting two new tenants: a corporate headquarters and a drug store.

House of Blues has signed a 33,000-square-foot lease at 6255 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood for its headquarters, according to Kennedy-Wilson Inc., which recently purchased the 300,000-square-foot high-rise.

The House of Blues name will appear on the top and front of the building, said Nick Kanieff, with Kennedy-Wilson. The entertainment company is moving from offices next door to its restaurant-music venue in West Hollywood.

Seth Dudley and Craig Jablin of Studley represented the House of Blues.

And American Stores Properties has acquired more than an acre of land at the southwest corner of Cahuenga Boulevard and Yucca Avenue for $2.8 million and will build a Sav-On drug store there. Ted Slaught, senior managing director at the Charles Dunn Co., represented both American Stores and Lucia Properties LLC of Glendale, the seller.

Forecast time

What’s in store for real estate in 1999? Three upcoming forecast conferences ponder the question in the weeks ahead.

UCLA Extension’s “Taking the Fast Track in 1999 The New Year Real Estate Forecast” will be held at the downtown Marriott Hotel on Jan. 6. Speakers include Christopher Martin, managing partner of the architecture firm A.C. Martin Partners, Grubb & Ellis Co. officials and the law firm Cox, Castle & Nicholson. For further information call (310) 206-1409.

On Jan. 12, there’s the Southern California Development Forum’s forecast, “What’s Hot for 1999: Real Estate and Economic Trends,” which will be held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. Speakers will include Andy Ratner of Cushman Realty Corp., Gary Mozer of George Smith Partners and Larry Kosmont of Kosmont & Associates. For information call (213) 389-6490.

And there’s the Real Estate Conference Group’s 1999 Real Estate Outlook to be held Jan. 21 at the Century Plaza Hotel. Speakers include Jerry Speyer, president of Tishman Speyer Properties Inc., Richard Ziman, chairman and chief executive of Arden Realty Inc., and Robert Lowe, chairman and chief executives of Lowe Enterprises. For further information call 310-285-5327.

News & notes

American InterContinental University is relocating from multiple sites on the Westside to a building on Jefferson Boulevard across from Playa Vista. The 88,000-square-foot lease, valued at more than $26 million, was signed for the entire Marina Corporate Centre, said Steven Center, who is with Legacy Partners Commercial Inc. Craig Meyer and Steve Solomon of Seeley represented the university and Mike DeSantis of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the tenant. Tanimura Distributing Inc., one of the largest produce distributors on the West Coast, has completed a five-year, $2.3 million lease agreement with Catellus Development Corp. for 61,415 square feet in Catellus-owned buildings at 1700 and 1800 Bay Street in downtown L.A. marking one of the largest deals in the produce district this year. Dwight Hotchkiss and John McMillan of Cushman & Wakefield represented both sides. Cisco Systems Inc. has leased an aggregate of about 30,000 square feet of office space in West L.A. and Long Beach to expand its area sales and engineering activities. The exact locations are 5150 E. Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach and the Westwood Gateway tower. David Prior and Michael Preiss of the Klabin Co. represented Cisco. The total value of the transactions was nearly $4 million.

Elizabeth Hayes can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 229.