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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Owners Pull High-Profile Burbank Tower Off Market

With no takers for the price it was asking, Tochikogyo USA Inc. has pulled The Tower, a prestigious high-rise building in Burbank, off the sales block. Kendall Patton, an attorney with Dudenick Detwiler Rivin & Stikker LLP who represents the owner of the 32-story building, said that while the property had drawn interest from potential buyers, the offers did not meet expectations. “We didn’t need to sell,” Patton said. “They (couldn’t) realize the price they wanted, so they thought it was a good property to hold onto.” Although Patton declined to discuss the asking price, brokers estimated that, at current market values, the building would likely be priced at about $115 million, or about $245 to $250 per square foot. While such a price would not be unreasonable, according to brokers, it may be unrealistic in the current marketplace. “The prices being offered today are approximately $10 to $20 a foot less than what was achieved two or three years ago,” said William R. Boyd Jr., senior vice president at Grubb & Ellis Co. Competition between real estate investment trusts, which were aggressively buying properties several years ago, drove prices up, but now that the REITs have ratcheted down their acquisition activity, the offers are more likely to be based on rental rates and not the result of supply and demand, brokers said. Another factor that may have dampened buyers’ enthusiasm is the status of The Tower’s major tenant, the Walt Disney Co. The company, which occupies more than 90 percent of The Tower, has plans to develop a huge complex in Glendale and could move much of the operation now housed in The Tower to that property when it is completed. “The Disney (situation) makes it risky for people to pay a high price,” said Paul W. Stockwell, corporate managing director of real estate brokerage Julien J. Studley Inc., who added that the Burbank market continues to be very strong. “I don’t think (the decision not to sell The Tower) indicates anything in particular about the market,” he said. Moorpark Warehouse Sold A group of investors has acquired a 110,000-square-foot warehouse property in Moorpark for $5.8 million. The concrete tilt-up building at 5100 Commerce St. is located on a 4.3-acre site. F. Ronald Rader of the Klabin Co. represented the buyer, 5100 Moorpark LLC. The seller, 5100 Commerce LLC, was represented by George Hicker and Ed Natan of the Cardinal Co. Lennar Gets Going Lennar Partners late last month broke ground on the first phase of LNR Warner Center, a redevelopment project that, when completed, will add 1.5 million square feet of office space to the 35-acre office complex currently occupied by Prudential Insurance of America. Lennar, which acquired the property from Prudential in 1998, plans to build two new, campus-style office buildings on the site in the first phase of the project. The two buildings, with 178,000 square feet of space in each, will be part of a project designed to ultimately consist of eight office buildings and some retail facilities. In addition to the Prudential office facilities that now exist at the complex, the site includes 10 additional acres of land that are entitled for development. Kevin Read, vice president of acquisitions for Lennar, said the company has already received “a surprising amount of activity” on the project, which will lease for approximately $2.30 per square foot, plus parking at $45 a space. Told Leasing in Westlake Brian Forster and Jeff Albee at Told Partners have been selected as exclusive leasing agents for Westlake Corporate Plaza, a 133,000-square-foot office building at 2625 Townsgate Road. The building is currently under renovation by its owner, Townsgate Partners LP, a partnership between Investcorp and Pacifica Real Estate Group. The monthly asking rate on the space is $2.25 per square foot, full service. State Property Gets Underway A Los Angeles developer broke ground March 31 on a new State Employment Development Department facility in Pacoima. The $4.1 million development comprising 20,000 square feet of office space will serve as a regional job service and computer training facility for the EDD. The new building, which will triple the agency’s current facilities in San Fernando, is expected to create 80 new jobs, according to Kevin Brunk, president of CJJ Inc. and general partner for 118 Limited Partners, which is developing the site. The building is located at 11623 Glenoaks Blvd. The single-story building, designed by Nadel Architects in Santa Monica, will have a state-of-the-art voice and data communications system. Construction is expected to be completed in September. Insurance Firm Relocates Greystone Insurance Co. leased a 8,322-square-foot office space in the Thousand Oaks Financial Plaza for its corporate headquarters. Greystone will employ 30 people at the new location, at 195-325 East Hillcrest Ave. Darryl Zilberstein and Tony Principe, brokers with Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the landlord, Pacifica Capital Group. Zilberstein also represented the tenant. Franklin and Lillian Lipofsky Family Trusts. News & Notes Moonlight Garden Apartments, a 110-unit apartment complex in Pacoima, was sold to Peter Wang for $6.1 million, according to Scott G. Miller and Mark McDonald of Hendricks & Partners, who handled the transaction. The seller was Steadfast MGA LLC in Newport Beach Accounting firm Holthouse, Carlin & Van Tright LLP leased 5,849 square feet of office space in the North Ranch Corporate Center at 4550 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Cheryl Richmond and Corbett Richmond of NAI Capital Commercial represented the landlord, Scheu Development Co. Staff Reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 710-2731, ext. 4316 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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