Commercial transactions in the Valley are still taking place despite financing challenges and an economy that just doesn’t seem like it’s springing back as quickly as we all hoped. Kudos to those who are obviously working twice as hard these days. Here are some of the highlights in our transaction roundup. Medical Office The Johnston Group purchased a 24,000-square-foot medical office building at 2045 Royal Avenue in Simi Valley for $4.8 million. The CB Richard Ellis office brokerage team of Tom Dwyer, Michael Slater and Jennifer Rice, represented the buyer. The seller, Kasco LP was represented by Lee & Associates’ Jay Martinez and Jay Rubin. The investment group plans to upgrade the building’s common areas and renovate all individual suites. One-third of the tenants are currently non-medical users; the new owners plan to convert the building to 100 percent medical tenants. A Four-Bagger Lee & Associates broker Jay Martinez, in the LA North/Ventura office has closed two transactions. The first involved the same of a 20,478-square-foot office building at 11565 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in Mission Hills for $4 million. The building was purchased by Le Rual Venture LP, an affiliate of Asset Management Consultants, Inc. from Diversified Lending Group Inc. Pasco Plaza Inc. acquired an 8,710-square-foot retail building at 13758 Victory Blvd. in Van Nuys from seller Guido Alfred Gil & Xochitl Claudia for $1,625,000. Martinez represented the buyers and sellers in all of these transactions. More Lee Not to be left behind, Lee & Associates Principal Brett Warner represented Kenmere Property LLC in the sale of a 12,327-square-foot industrial building in Burbank for $2.8 million. The tilt-up facility at 2102 W. Kenmere Ave. is near the Empire Center. Cydwoq Inc., the buyer, is a maker of high-end, handcrafted footwear, handbags and belts. Billy Wok of CB Richard Ellis represented Cydwoq. Westlake Architect Jack Dwyer CCIM of NAI Capital’s Westlake Village office represented architectural firm Heathcote and Associates in the purchase of a 15,000 square foot two-story office building. The property at 3396 Willow Lane in Westlake Village sold for more than $3 million, according to an NAI Capital press release. Heathcote plans to expand in the future and the new space will accommodate that, said Gary Heathcote, AIA. The acquisition team also included Larry Ray of Capital Line Financial who arranged SBA financing for the building purchase through First Community Bank, represented by Kelvin Davis. Glen Fuller in the Westlake Village office of Weston, Benshoof (now Alston+Bird) assisted with legal due diligence assistance. The exchange entity seller was represented by Tony Principe of Westcord Commercial Group. Buddy Buddy Mike LaRocque and Brendan Dell of DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services aided Buddy’s All Stars in the purchase of a 16,350-square-foot building at 3216 W. Valhalla Drive in Burbank, near the airport. The $3 million move will allow the company to expand while remaining just two miles from its previous location. Dale Pederson represented the seller, The Karalis Family Trust. Leases Encino-based Colliers’ brokers John DeGrinis, SIOR and Patrick DuRoss have gotten some lease deals done recently. One 62-month lease for a 30,488-square-foot space at 11128 Gault St. in North Hollywood was signed for $0.72 NNN per-square-foot. Brent Weirick of Colliers also worked on this deal. The three brokers represented the lessor, WCV Properties. A 21,323-square-foot property in Oxnard leased for 62 months at a rate of $0.56 NNN per-square-foot. Jeff Abraham was also in on this deal with the Colliers team representing both the lessee Diagnostic Strategies and Kings Product, Inc. and the landlord, Marcus Adams Industrial Investments, LLC. In Chatsworth, a 15,808-square-foot industrial building lease was inked by David Hoffberg of Delphi Business Properties. Terms of the five-year lease were not disclosed. It will be the new home to Beaufort California, Inc. which recently acquired Digital Cinema, formerly a unit of DTS, Inc. Delphi represented Laser Vision Industries, Inc., the landlord, while Cresa Partners represented the lessee. Hoffberg also worked with A.P. Products, Inc., in their lease of a 39,800-square-foot industrial building in Sylmar. The new space will allow the fiberglass-products distributor currently located in Pacoima to expand its operations. The five-year lease at 12884 Bradley Ave. is valued at $1.4 million. Trevor Gale and Ron Kassan of Beitler Commercial Realty Services represented the landlord, International Associates LLC. Palmdale Office The construction of the first building of the Palmdale Corporate Center is now complete, reported Realm Real Estate, a Newport Beach-based developer. The 60,000-square-foot office building is the first Class-A office space built in the city in 10 years. A company spokesperson said that Realm “is currently in negotiations to lease approximately 45,000 square feet of the project to post-secondary education and medical users.” Broker Event My e-mail recently included an invitation to an event called “Toast to the Top Brokers” that had me scratching my head. The invitation stated that the $99 ticket price includes a trophy presentation, hosted cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, networking with Southern California’s top executives, hand-rolled cigars and a visit from the world-famous Laker Girls. Excuse me? Cigars? Laker girls? It sounds like the event was planned for 1968, not 2008; a notion further bolstered by the fact that just eight women made the list of Top Brokers, out of a total of 96 individuals being honored. The honorees were reportedly ranked by event sponsor Real Estate Southern California on the total value of deals completed last year, so the dearth of females and non-Caucasian males on the list may be merely coincidental. I’m sure the event promoters aren’t trying to make anyone uncomfortable. In October, RESC will produce its annual Women of Influence issue, so they’re certainly not anti-female or anti-diversity. And they’re not alone. The NAIOP-SoCal hosts an annual “Night at the Fights” that is equally male-oriented. “I’d love to go, but that’s not my thing,” said Tori Robinson, president-elect of Commercial Real Estate Women-Los Angeles, about the NAIOP event. “I would feel uncomfortable and weird there.” Of course, there are women who enjoy boxing and smoking cigars and plenty of men who don’t. But I believe that the number of women in the industry who don’t attend these activities because they just don’t feel comfortable, or even wanted, far outweighs those who do. I just hope the Women of Influence event is not a tea, with pedicures and a visit from the Thunder Down Under “dance” troupe. Staff Reporter Linda Coburn can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or at [email protected].
