By LINDA COBURN Contributing Reporter News from the retail sector this week headlines our real estate coverage. On Wednesday, Macy’s Northridge, in the Northridge Fashion Center officially opened its newly-relocated men’s clothing department and Home Store in the second floor of the space previously occupied by Robinsons-May. Located at the opposite end of the mall from the Macy’s main store, the 93,000-square-foot store is currently only accessible from inside the second level of the mall. Renovations in other parts of the space are continuing, according to Store Manager Christine Lardoux. “The third floor is not open for customers yet. That will open in November. There will be a furniture gallery, with mattresses, furniture, rugs, and that sort of thing.” Once the third floor opens, shoppers will be able to use the bridge from the parking structure at Shirley and Prairie avenues. Lardoux said this will be the first time Macy’s has had a furniture gallery at Fashion Center. Macy’s now has three separate locations in the mall, the third being their This Is It! juniors store which is located at the north end of the mall, near the main Macy’s store. That will change, hopefully, by the end of 2008, said Lardoux. “The main store will start a major reconstruction next year and at that point This Is It! will come back into the main store. As for the first floor of the old Robinsons-May building, Lardoux said that Macy’s will be leasing that space out. There is about 100,000 square feet available. In other mall news, the final phase of the Westfield Topanga redevelopment will be moving forward this month with the construction of a two-story, 36,000-square-foot freestanding Crate and Barrel store at the corner of Victory and Topanga Canyon boulevards. “We’ve been working on this for quite some time with Crate and Barrel,” said Sarah Richardson, Marketing Director for Westfield Topanga and Promenade. “They’ve been asking for more space to accommodate customers and offer more products and we’ve been looking to free up coveted space for luxury retailers in the center court.” The new facility will give the retailer 20,000 more square feet than it currently occupies. Richardson said that construction on the new building will begin in the next couple of weeks and the store is anticipated to open in November 2008. Heading east, the Encino Courtyard, a 99,305-square-foot retail center at 17401 Ventura Blvd. was acquired for a reported $41.4 million. The 97-percent leased center anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond and Bally’s Total Fitness was sold by Encino Retail Group LLC to Santa Monica-based Levy Affiliated Holdings in a joint venture with GE Real Estate.. Tom Lagos and Kyle Miller of Grubb & Ellis’ West Los Angeles office represented both buyer and the seller in the off-market transaction. Affordable Senior Housing Oft-maligned Parthenia Street is looking better these days with the near-completion of a new affordable-house apartment building for seniors. Located at the corner of Parthenia Street and Shirley Avenue, the 77-unit building should be ready for residents to move-in around Nov. 1, said John Ambicki, project manager for Alpha Construction, the general contractor. The project is being developed by Menorah Housing Foundation, a non-sectarian, community-based, non-profit affordable housing developer. The group operates four other buildings in the Valley already. Anne Friedrich, executive director of Menorah Housing, said that a lottery was held to determine who would get to move in. “We received 480 applications for 76 units,” she said. One unit is reserved for an on-site manager. Funding came through a variety of sources, including HUD, the City of L.A. Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Ahmanson Foundation, the Jewish Community Foundation and City National Bank. Applicants had to prove they were at least 62 years old, and have a maximum annual income of $25,900 for one person or $29,600 for two people, said Friedrich, but typically their tenants average closer to $10,000 per year as most are living completely off of Social Security payments. Rents are on a sliding scale and are based on 30 percent of the tenant’s income, “which makes it very affordable for them,” said Friedrich. The average rent is about $180 per month. This is an independent living building meaning there are no on-site facilities for skilled nursing or other care of that type. All of the units are one-bedroom and the project also offers a community room and a laundry room. A 35-space secured surface parking lot is behind the building. Friedrich said that Menorah, which has 950 other units through the southland, has a long waitlist for their projects. “Typically the wait is between three and 10 years.” Menorah bought the property in 2004. The project is designed to be sensitive to the neighborhood, Friedrich said. “We pride ourselves on being a good neighbor.” Offices for Sale Optical Communication Products, which is in the process of being acquired by Oplink Communications, is selling its 168,000-square-foot Woodland Hills office/industrial building. Late last year, the company moved its manufacturing activities to China, laying off more than 150 employees that worked in Woodland Hills. The property, on 5.77 acres, is valued at $19.7 million in OCP’s second quarter 2007 financial statement. Carlo Brignardello, principal of CRESA partners in the Los Angeles office, is the exclusive listing broker representing OCP. Adler Acquisitions Woodland Hills-based Adler Realty Investments, Inc. announced its acquisition of three separate office campuses in Dallas with an aggregate purchase price of more than $35 million. The deals include more than 400,000 square feet in nine office buildings. In a company statement, Adler stated it has plans to undertake some renovations and upgrades while aggressively marketing the available space for lease. Santa Clarita Plaza Mark McGovern and Jeff Rice of CB Richard Ellis | Melody Capital Markets of San Diego arranged $19.5 million in permanent financing for the 114,370-square-foot Santa Clarita Plaza. According to Senior Analyst Rice, the property was initially purchased in November, 2004 by S. Clarita Plaza LLC, an entity owned by the Laeroc 2004-2005 Income Fund which is managed by Manhattan Beach-based Laeroc Partners Inc. The Plaza is anchored by a Rite-Aid drugstore and other major tenants include Bank of America and Goodwill Industries. “The financing was originated by CBRE-Melody and financed through Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital,” said Rice. Toy Story Update Last September, MGA Entertainment, makers of Bratz dolls and a variety of other toy lines, made quite a splash when it emerged as the top bidder among a handful of developers vying for the Los Angeles Times’ Chatsworth facility. Since then, according to a company spokesperson, MGA has moved its showrooms into one of the buildings on the 26-acre parcel and architects are working on a design for a new headquarters that is planned for occupancy in 2009. Porter Ranch Condos A priority list of pre-qualified applicants is being developed for a new phase of Porter Ranch called Cortile. On Sept. 8, sales of the first 11 homes will begin, with those applicants who have pre-qualified and put their name on a priority list getting first shot. Cortile, which means “courtyard” in Italian, will feature two-story detached condominiums, said Joanne Butler, a sales representative. They will range in size from 928 square feet to 1374 square feet with prices starting in the mid-$300,000s and going up to about $470,000. Buildings should be read for move-in by March 2008. Ultimately Cortile will have 143 homes. Models should be open in January, according to Butler.
