This Week's LA Deal Sheet
A major redevelopment of the Fashion District’s Southern California Flower Market has hit a roadblock.
A judge issued a peremptory writ of mandate in June ordering the city of Los Angeles to set aside its approval of the planned project. The decision presses pause on the development until it complies with the California Environmental Quality Act.
The news was announced by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which sued the city over its approval of the project in late 2019.
Southern California Flower Market's Scott Yamabe, who is leading the redevelopment effort of the market, told the Los Angeles Business Journal that he was “disappointed in the court's ruling” and would work to amend the project and move forward on it.
The redevelopment plan proposed demolition of part of the market and replacing it with a new 15-story building holding 323 residential units, plus about 64K SF of office space, 64K SF of wholesale space and roughly 10K SF of event space.
PEOPLE
Skanska promoted Ellen Mair to vice president of business development for its building operations in LA. Mair will continue leading business development on behalf of Skanska USA Building in Southern California and will be responsible for regional growth and enhancing the firm’s client base. Prior to being promoted, Mair was director of business development at Skanska.
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Newmark has added Mark Capasso to its Valuation & Advisory practice as an executive vice president and member of the Hospitality, Gaming and Leisure practice. Capasso is based in Newmark’s El Segundo office. He comes to Newmark from Cushman & Wakefield’s Valuation and Advisory practice, where he most recently served as North American practice leader for its Hospitality and Gaming group.
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Nick Ito has joined CBRE Global Investors as managing director and senior originator. Ito will be based in LA and focus on deploying capital on behalf of the Americas Credit Division. Before CBRE, Ito spent 15 years at MetLife, where he was head of commercial mortgages in the Los Angeles office and head of West Coast debt fund originations.
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Aaron Fierstein and Bridget Behmke, a top multifamily team from Marcus & Millichap, have moved to Colliers. Fierstein and Behmke will advise clients throughout South Bay and Los Angeles County under the direction of Colliers Executive Managing Directors Jodie Poirer and Cody Cannon. The team facilitated the sale of two of the largest multifamily properties in Hawthorne, California, and captured the largest market share of sales in Torrance in 2021.
SALES
Staley Point Capital and Bain Capital Real Estate announced the acquisition of 2700 California St., a 135K SF industrial infill property in Torrance, for $34.5M, or approximately $256 per SF. The property was previously occupied by Edelbrock, which manufactures and designs specialty auto parts. The sale is the joint venture’s sixth since launching in September 2020 and its first in the South Bay.
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Newmark arranged the $12M sale of an office building in Commerce to Khosh Properties. The approximately 47K SF property at 5100 South Eastern Ave. has served as the headquarters for Japanese electronics and musical instrument company Roland Corp. since 1999. Roland occupies most of the building, which also has two other tenants. Newmark Managing Director Ryan Plummer, Executive Managing Director Sean Fulp and Director Mark Schuessler, along with Tony Naples of Lee & Associates, represented the seller, Mulberry Capital.
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Avison Young and Method Commercial announced they co-brokered the $11.25M sale of a roughly 16K SF creative office building at 2210-2218 East Maple Ave. in El Segundo. The building was fully occupied at the time of sale. Avison Young principal Neil Resnick and Method Commercial Managing Director and founder Martin McDermott represented the seller, Five Amigos LLC. The buyer, a Los Angeles-based private investor, was self-represented.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Majestic Realty Co. and Tejon Ranch Co. broke ground on a roughly 629K SF spec industrial building within the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center. It is the fourth joint venture between the two companies in the past five years. Designed for single-tenant or multi-tenant use, the Class-A building is underway on nearly 39 acres along Interstate 5. It is expected to be ready for tenants in mid-2022. JLL Managing Director Mike McCrary represents the developers.
THIS AND THAT
Developer and builder Howard CDM has moved its headquarters from Long Beach to Bellflower, adaptively reusing a former JCPenney store slated for demolition as its new office. The renovated structure at 17434 Bellflower Blvd., now called The Exchange, was transformed by architecture, urbanism and landscape design firm Studio One Eleven.
The building includes health and wellness benefits, incorporating natural wood ceilings with interior hanging gardens to enhance air quality and featuring a dedicated wellness room. In addition to housing offices for Howard CDM, it holds a coworking space, Ironfire Workspaces.
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YouTube signed a 10-year naming rights agreement with Hollywood Park to put its name on the 6,000-seat venue in the Inglewood mixed-use development adjacent to SoFi Stadium. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The theater is slated to open this summer, and the first phase of the remainder of the 300-acre development is more than halfway complete.
