A large lot in Van Nuys, vacated more than a year ago by Quest Diagnostics Inc., will soon get a massive overhaul as new owners plan to demolish the buildings and replace them with three warehouses. A joint venture of Shubin Nadal Associates LLC, a Newport Beach developer, and Penwood Real Estate Investment Management LLC of Hartford, Conn., purchased the 17.4 acre site at 7600 Tyrone Ave. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the property was listed at $18 million, according to CoStar Group Inc. The developer plans to tear down several testing labs, industrial labs and office buildings vacated by Quest, a medical testing company, last year. The new buildings will more than double the existing space to 290,000 square feet. “There are not too many properties of this size in the San Fernando Valley. You’d be hard pressed to find another space this size,” said Bill Shubin, principal at Shubin Nadal. “They had underutilized the land. A big portion of it is just not built up because of how much parking they needed for employees.” The company wants to begin demolition early next year and construction will begin in early summer. Plans call for two buildings at roughly 80,000 square feet and one at 124,000 square feet at a cost of approximately $32 million. The developer wants to sell the buildings. “We realize that the market is strong in the San Fernando Valley for owner-user properties, but if we need to do a lease, we’re open to that, too,” Shubin said. “We’re aiming to be leasing up the buildings around this time next year.” Shubin Nadal has developed properties throughout Southern California and is currently working on the remodel of a creative office building in Irvine with backing from Penwood. David Harding and Greg Geraci of CBRE Group Inc.’s Universal City office represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. Supermarket Special A 34,000 square foot retail space left vacant when an Albertsons grocery store moved out early last month has been purchased for $9.1 million. Capital Real Estate Advisors Inc., a Los Angeles boutique brokerage, was the acquirer. The site was home to one of 19 Southern California stores closed by parent company Supervalu Inc. after a disappointing first quarter. It is currently vacant. The building, constructed in 1966, was sold by American Stores Co. LLC, a Boise, Idaho holding company for the supermarket chain. But the property may not remain home to a grocery store. The 2.4-acre site, near the downtown Glendale business district that has seen lots of redevelopment lately, may be headed for the same fate. Capital Real Estate said it plans to lease the site, but noted that zoning allows for a wide variety of commercial uses and that it is open to exploring redevelopment options. “We were attracted to this high-quality infill Los Angeles site and have already seen strong tenant demand and interest for various re-development options,” said Darren Hill, managing director of Capital Real Estate, in a statement. The Alberstons was one of more than 60 stores closed nationwide as part of a larger restructuring. Two other Valley area locations, one at Devonshire Street and Reseda Boulevard; and another at Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way, were closed also. The closures added hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space to the Southern California market. Capital Real Estate was represented in-house by Vice President Michael Poyer, who will handle the marketing of the property. Screen Sale A 16-screen movie theater occupied by AMC Entertainment Inc. in the Westfield Promenade Shopping Mall in Woodland Hills is for sale for $46.1 million. The 129,822 square foot property, owned by Kansas City, Mo. real estate investment trust EPR Properties, is quietly being shopped to potential buyers. It has been on the market since August, according to CoStar. The property was built in 1996 and purchased by EPR, then known as Entertainment Properties Trust, in 1998. The trust went through a name change just last month as part of an effort to rebrand itself. The company, which had its start in developing movie theaters in malls, has since diversified its portfolio to include other entertainment properties such as ski parks, water parks and charter schools. AMC’s current lease runs through November 2015, with extension options. The property is being marketed through CBRE Inc.’s National Retail Investment Group. Staff reporter Kelly Goff can be reached at (818) 316-3135 or by email at [email protected].
