San Fernando Valley CHATSWORTH Redline Courier Service will lay off about 80 percent of its workforce this spring, including at its Chatsworth facility. The Mission Hills delivery service notified the state Employment Development Department on March 9 that it would permanently eliminate about 169 positions, effective May 9. That number includes 46 employees – 44 delivery drivers and two dispatchers – from its Chatsworth location. The others are in Los Angeles, Hawthorne and Chino. NORTHRIDGE Hospitals in the Dignity Health Southwest Division, including Northridge Hospital Medical Center and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center, will be part of a free virtual urgent care service for community members experiencing coronavirus symptoms. Dubbed Virtual Care Anywhere, the service is a safe alternative for those needing to speak with a medical professional without having to visit a physical location. There is a $35 fee for the service, but Dignity plans to waive it for patients experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. “As ambulatory and acute care facilities across the country experience an increase in the number of patients with COVID-19 symptoms, virtual health care visits can help providers meet demand while reducing potential transmission of the coronavirus,” Dignity said in a statement. Users are encouraged to download Virtual Care Anywhere through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or call 855-356-8053 and enter code ‘COVID-19.’ A physician will contact a patient within 15 to 30 minutes after the patient requests a virtual care visit, although “high demand may result in longer wait times,” Dignity added. STUDIO CITY Tix Corp. has closed its Las Vegas ticket booths and laid off its employees there in light of the closures of casinos and attractions in the city due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Studio City discount ticket seller said that virtually all Las Vegas entertainment, restaurants, bars and major hotel properties – including Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International – have closed. “With the closure of entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip, and therefore the cessation of revenue for our business, we effected a layoff of the majority of our employees, closed our ticket booths and continue to significantly reduce our operating costs,” the company said in a statement. SYLMAR Second Sight Medical Products Inc. announced the departure of Chief Executive Will McGuire, effective March 27. The visual prosthetics company has named Gregg Williams as acting chief executive; Williams is the company’s chairman. John Blake, chief financial officer, and Pat Ryan, chief operating officer, will report to Williams while the company begins the process of searching for a new top executive. McGuire chose to pursue an unnamed professional opportunity located closer to his family, Second Sight said in a statement. He will remain a director on the company board. TARZANA A 48-unit multifamily complex in Tarzana has sold for $15.1 million. The 46,548 square-foot building, located at 5911-5917 Reseda Blvd., was sold by Lion Real Estate Group. Interstate Equities Corp. is the new owner. Michael Koshet at KW Commercial represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. The property sits in a prime location of Tarzana, between the Metro Orange Line and the 101 freeway. According to Koshet, the building consists of 2- and 3-bedroom units and a large park-like setting in the middle with a fitness room. “The seller exited the property with an out-of-state exchange, while the buyer felt there was plenty of upside potential (with) 1,100 new jobs coming into the immediate area with the new Tarzana Cedars Sinai Hospital $600 million expansion,” Koshet told the Business Journal. VAN NUYS In response to the spreading COVID-19 virus, Anheuser-Busch Cos. announced that it will produce bottles of hand sanitizer at its Van Nuys plant in addition to its Budweiser beer. The St. Louis-based brewer will work with the American Red Cross to ship sanitizer where it’s needed most after producing and distributing bottles to its internal teams, the company said in a statement. “To help address COVID-19, Anheuser-Busch is focused on the health and safety of our employees and serving our communities. As we have in the past, we are leveraging our capabilities, our relationships and our reach to provide assistance to those in need,” Cesar Vargas, U.S. chief external affairs officer for Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement. “We are in this together and there is more to come.” Anheuser-Busch plans to produce sanitizer at its brewery in Baldwinsville, N.Y., in addition to the Van Nuys facility. Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, chief executive of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, issued a call for help in securing financial assistance for business advocacy organizations dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. “The current stimulus proposal working its way through Congress includes relief funding for 501(c)3 non-profit organizations. That does NOT include chambers of commerce,” Hoffman Vanyek wrote in an email. “That means NO government relief for the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber. That jeopardizes my livelihood and our team.” The email urged members to write members of Congress and included emails for Valley representatives and both California senators. It also included a sample letter of what to tell elected officials. The letter noted that in its current form, the economic stimulus bill will leave out 4,000 chambers and 62,000 other professional associations in the U.S. The letter asks for $25 billion in capital assistance for associations and nonprofits. Santa Clarita Valley CASTAIC A private real estate investor has paid $2 million for a retail building in Castaic that has a lease commitment from Jack in the Box through March 2027. The single-tenant building, located at 28090 Hasley Canyon Road, has been leased by Jack in the Box for 13 years. The restaurant has seven more years on its 20-year commitment. Avison Young’s Chris Maling and David Maling represented the undisclosed buyer and the seller, Ada Florance, according to CoStar Group data. Built in 2007, the 2,590-square-foot building sits on a one-acre lot. Ventura County WESTLAKE VILLAGE Anchor Loans is relocating its headquarters to Westlake Village with the signing of a 26,000-square-foot lease at One Baxter Way. The house-flip lender will vacate its current offices in Calabasas. For the lease, CBRE’s Matt Heyn represented the landlord, One Baxter Way LP. Lee & Associates’ Jared Smits and Mike Tingus represented the lender in the transaction. Anchor Loans bills itself as “the nation’s premier fix-and-flip lender” with operations in 46 states. It has provided more than $1 billion in real estate financing annually since 2016 and has funded more than $7.7 billion in loans since its founding. “Our company is really excited about the move,” said Chief Financial Officer Bryan Thompson in a statement. “It’s great space in a premier building close to places to shop and eat, and Thousand Oaks is a growing, business-friendly community that will help position us for the future.” MannKind Corp. announced this month it is adjusting its pipeline research to focus on respiratory viral infections such as coronavirus. The company originally worked on developing products to treat serious lung disease. Now, MannKind will pool its pipeline resources into a collaboration with Immix Biopharma Inc. to create a dry powder treatment for “acute respiratory distress syndrome, a complication of COVID-19,” the company said in a statement. Immix is a Los Angeles-based biotech company focused on developing cancer therapies. The collaborative team will first focus on creating a prototype powder, which will then be assessed for its therapeutic potential. MannKind’s flagship product Afrezza, designed to treat diabetes in adults, uses an inhalable insulin powder. MannKind is exploring other collaborations, the company said in its statement.
