This Week's LA Deal Sheet: Cushman & Wakefield Taps Robert Thornburgh As Regional President
Cushman & Wakefield hired the former chief executive of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Robert Thornburgh, as regional president of the Southwest – an area that includes Southern California, Nevada, Phoenix, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
During his tenure as SIOR CEO, Thornburgh steered the organization toward improved member retention and increased membership and brand recognition.
In his new role at Cushman, Thornburgh will oversee the firm's strategic growth in the Southwest and develop partnerships across the firm’s service lines. Thornburgh is based in Cushman’s Los Angeles office.
PEOPLE
Stockdale Capital Partners has hired Erica Ratner as the new director of retail operations and general manager at The Oaks shopping mall in Thousand Oaks. Ratner brings over a decade of experience in retail operations and previously managed high-profile retail destinations including Caruso Affiliated’s The Grove.
In her new role at The Oaks, Ratner will oversee day-to-day property operations and execute development projects to modernize the property. Her work will also focus on optimizing the tenant mix and upgrading amenities.
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CBRE hired Conor Brennan to join its San Diego office as a senior vice president. Brennan will focus on multifamily private investment properties in the region. Brennan spent the last 12 years at Marcus & Millichap, specializing in multifamily investment property sales in San Diego. During that time, he was involved in closing a half-billion dollars worth of transactions.
SALES
Lee & Associates facilitated the sale of 3 acres at Meridian Parkway and Authority Way in Riverside. Vice President of Lee & Associates - Riverside Mario Calvillo represented the buyer, Silagi Development & Management, and Lee & Associates’ Finn Comer represented the seller.
The site is entitled with construction drawings for two industrial buildings totaling nearly 46K SF. The buyer plans to develop the two buildings, with groundbreaking expected in the second quarter of 2025.
LEASES
NAI Capital Commercial Executive Vice President Sheri Messerlian and Vice President Ilmar Kalviste completed a five-year lease for 10K SF at 22715 Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance to gym Athlos Iron Lair. NAI Capital represented the landlord, Thomas Najarian LLC, and Athlos Iron Lair represented itself in the transaction.
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Skechers signed a 10-year lease at 2690 Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance. NAI Capital Commercial Executive Vice President Sheri Messerlian and Vice President Ilmar Kalviste represented the landlord, Berke Enterprises LTD. Skechers was represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Leslie Meyer.
Skechers will occupy a roughly 12K SF free-standing building that formerly housed a Walgreens. The building includes a drive-thru and 58 parking spaces.
FINANCING
The developers of San Pedro’s West Harbor development secured $61.5M for the recapitalization of the project. The financing includes originating a new senior loan funded by Oceanview Life and Annuity Co., an affiliate of Bayview Asset Management, along with PACE financing. The funds will support the project’s completion and stabilization.
A Newmark team led by Executive Vice Chairman Bill Fishel advised the West Harbor team and arranged the recapitalization.
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Gantry secured $46.5M in permanent loans for The Plaza at Golden Valley in Santa Clarita. The shopping center at 19001-19415 Golden Valley Road spans more than 600K SF and counts Trader Joe’s, Staples, BevMo!, TJ Maxx, Panera Bread and Chili’s among its tenants.
Gantry principal Tony Kaufmann and associates Alex Poulos and Joe Foley in the firm’s San Francisco office represented the borrower, an undisclosed private real estate investor. The 10-year, fixed-rate, nonrecourse loans were placed with two of Gantry’s insurance company correspondents. Gantry will service the loans.
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The owners of Crenshaw Plaza, a 147K SF grocery-anchored shopping center at Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue in Hyde Park, have locked in $32M in senior financing for the retail property, JLL Capital Markets announced.
Crenshaw Plaza is adjacent to the Hyde Park Station on the Metro K Line light rail and is 97% leased. Its anchor tenant is Vallarta Supermarkets, which has a new 15-year lease at the property. Other tenants include Planet Fitness, Foot Locker and AutoZone.
JLL represented the borrower, a joint venture between the principals of 21 Alpha Group and Intelligent Design Real Estate, in arranging the three-year, floating-rate loan through Forbright Bank.
