A couple of local real estate industry veterans are planning to start an online service later this year that aggregates commercial property listings of all types. Fred Simanek, who is a real estate broker turned self-storage developer, and Christopher Itule, a broker at Sperry Van Ness, expect the Web site to offer one-stop shopping for those seeking to buy properties. There are currently several Web sites that provide aggregated commercial real estate listings, but the developers of MyNextDeal, headquartered in Thousand Oaks, say that the site will provide a more comprehensive listing than is currently available. “It just grew out of my dissatisfaction looking for particular properties like industrial land,” said Simanek. “I’d have to go to four different Web sites to make sure I was always keeping track. I figured why not aggregate those results?” MyNextDeal, will include not only the listings from larger aggregators of commercial real estate, including Co-Star and LoopNet, but it will also include listings culled from the Web sites of each of the real estate brokerage houses, which publicize their own listings on their sites. The service would be free to users, with revenues coming from advertisers, who, Simanek expects, will want to take advantage of what he projects will be a far greater number of viewers than any of the individual sites can attract. MyNextDeal will also give users the option of registering to receive e-mail updates when properties meeting specific criteria come on the market. “Since we gather listings from virtually every data source known for commercial real estate listings, our users will be able to find deals they may have otherwise overlooked,” Simanek said. MyNextDeal will operate using individual servers dedicated to scanning each of the different Web sites that currently post real estate listings. The cost of the startup is estimated at about $175,000. “We’d like to launch Sept. 1, but we’ll see,” said Simanek. “Based on the response we’ve gotten, we’ve been flooded with positive response and a ton of feedback on some of the features they’d like to see.” Old, Shmold After working for several years to develop a residence concept that would enable seniors to transition from active retirees living independently to homes where various levels of skilled care would be available to them, PCS Development has scrapped its plans. The company has listed its Bella Vita site in Sherman Oaks for sale after finding that there is little interest among Southern Californians in planning for their golden years. “Southern Californians don’t want to think about getting old and they sure don’t want to invest their money into senior housing,” said Paul Jennings, CEO of PCS. “The reality is Southern Californians only want senior housing on an as-needed basis.” Jennings had begun marketing condominium units within a larger community that would provide “continuing care” to the seniors who chose to live in the community several years ago. No building had begun on the site. The concept has been very successful on the East Coast, but is still rarely used in the West. PCS had acquired a second site in Calabasas intending to build a second continuing care community there and has placed that site on the block as well. Gregory Harris at Marcus & Millichap is marketing the two properties. Industrial Condos Sold Low Archibald Real Estate Group has just about sold out of its Rye Canyon Business Park industrial condominium units in Valencia. The company finished construction on the 141,000-square-foot building about a month ago, and all but one of the 43 units has been sold. The units range from 2,400 square feet to 5,800 square feet and were offered at over $166 per square foot. Brent Weirick, who, with John Erickson, brokers with Colliers International, is marketing the property, said that the rise in interest rates recently does not seem to have affected demand for these condo units, which allow small businesses to own their own facilities. “On the whole, the market seems to be moving along nicely,” Weirick said. Woodland Hills Deal The Woodcourt office building in Woodland Hills has sold for $13 million. The building, at 20251-20301 Ventura Blvd., sits on 3.2 acres. Bruce Frasco at NAI Capital represented the buyer, a limited partnership. NAI’s John Westerhof with Bill Palmer of the Palmer Group represented the seller, Holualoa W-M Joint Venture LLC. NAI Reps Japanese Client With offices for its one-year-old Pacific Rim division set to open shortly in Westminster, NAI Capital Commercial has picked up a Japanese client seeking retail locations in the U.S. Encino-based NAI is working with Curry House Restaurants to find locations for its chain of eateries. “They currently have about seven locations in Southern California, and they’d like to spread out,” said Bennard Gillison, senior vice president and director of NAI’s corporate services division, which is assisting the Pacific Rim division in the effort. Gillison said the San Fernando Valley would be included in the search, but the primary target markets for the restaurant operator are those with heavy Asian populations. NAI last August announced plans to open a Pacific Rim division designed to work with companies from Asia and the Middle East who are interested in investments and locations in the U.S. The real estate brokerage is set to open headquarters for the division in Westminster in Orange County where one of the oldest Little Saigon neighborhoods in the U.S. is located. Valencia Deal A 8,652-square-foot retail center in Valencia has sold for $5,925,000. The center, at 24133 Baywood Lane, is fully leased. Bert Abel and John Cserkuti of NAI Capital and Jeff Hanson and Ryan Gallagher at Grubb & Ellis represented the seller, Baywood Retail LLC, and the buyer, Sarkis & Swedlang Mikailian.
