The sleek storefront that is home to Tesla Motors Inc.’s showroom on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade has sold for about $15.6 million, or roughly $5,200 a square foot, to the same company that purchased the Promenade’s Apple store in 2014.
KLM Equities Inc. and Harlington Realty bought the 3,000-square-foot Tesla site from Tigris Group VII, an entity registered in Pinecrest, Fla., according to CBRE. Timothy Bower, Ken McLeod, and Tim Kuruzar of CBRE represented all parties in the deal.
Bower emphasized that the appeal of the site was tied to the location rather than Tesla, Elon Musk’s headline-grabbing electric-car company, which will continue to lease the location.
“It’s a sexy tenant … but I think it’s more about the real estate,” Bower said. “Being able to own on the Promenade is a pretty rare thing.”
Most landlords at the outdoor shopping complex hold their property for long periods, given that the area ranks high among retail sites across the West Coast. The Tesla store last sold for $2.8 million, or $1,042 a square foot, in 2006, according to public property records. Tesla outfitted the narrow space to showcase its luxury autos in 2012 after taking the site over from Arcadia Books.
The Apple store on the Promenade sold in 2014 for $100 million, or $5,700 a square foot, to KLM affiliate Bridgton Realty. The deal came just two years after the property traded for $60 million, or $3,418 a square foot.
Despite soaring rates at the Promenade, they are still dwarfed by sales on the elite shopping streets of Beverly Hills. The Bijan store on Rodeo Drive sold in July for $122 million, or $19,405 a square foot.
KLM also owns Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre, storefronts on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, and a Citibank retail location in Santa Monica.
Inglewood Instinct
Two Inglewood multifamily properties sold last month to an investor planning to renovate the units and lift rents as part of a plan to capitalize on the city’s appeal to residents priced out of neighboring Westside markets.
Century City-based Universe Holdings purchased the buildings through a court-appointed receiver as part of a $16.7 million portfolio deal that also included a site in Hawthorne. The company is bidding on three more Inglewood properties, aiming for a bigger presence in a city that has drawn national attention as home to a forthcoming football stadium at the 300-acre, mixed-use Hollywood Park development.
“We’re long on Inglewood,” said Henry Manoucheri, Universe’s chief executive.
The company began its Inglewood expansion two years ago after making multifamily investments in other Southern California markets. Universe now holds 155 units in six properties in Inglewood and the South Bay, and plans to spend between $20,000 and $35,000 a unit on renovations.
Although Hollywood Park has made Inglewood look especially attractive to investors, Manoucheri said the city’s central L.A. location was already a selling point.
Gardena Groove
A nine-story office in Gardena is filling up, with space nabbed by health care data company Episource.
Episource, which relocated from Cypress a couple of years ago to be close to both the Westside and Orange County, added 5,000 square feet to its existing 12,550 square feet.
Avison Young’s Michael Ma and Ted Simpson represented Episource on the deal.
Ma said areas such as Gardena, Torrance, and Hawthorne are generating interest given recent leasing and sales successes in neighboring El Segundo.
“El Segundo’s arrived. The story’s been written there,” he said.
Rents for average offices in the area used to run at about $2 a square foot monthly, but are reaching up to around $3 after renovations.
Landlord Tireco Inc., also a tenant in the building, was represented by CBRE’s John Ayoob and Mike Harry in the recent lease deals.
Downtown Delivery
Eight downtown industrial properties marketed as potential redevelopment sites have sold for $38.4 million, according to Marcus & Millichap. The brokerage did not identify either the buyer or seller, who was represented by Quantum Associates.
The buildings comprise 4.6 acres and sit along Olympic Boulevard, and 10th and 11th streets a few blocks from Row DTLA, a massive project that aims to transform a different set of aging warehouses into offices, retail, and restaurant space.
The sale comes shortly after Irvine-based developer SunCal announced plans to build a giant mixed-use complex including two 58-story towers at Sixth Street between Alameda and Mills streets. The company bought the 14.6-acre site last year for $130 million.
Staff reporter Daina Beth Solomon can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.
