Colliers' Slam Dunk; The Deal Sheet
Dunkel Bros Machinery Moving is known for transporting large objects, like the Space Shuttle Endeavour on its 12-mile, two-day journey from LAX to the California Science Center through tree-lined streets. But when the family-owned company needed to move its corporate HQ, it needed some outside help. (Couldn't they just put the existing HQ on one of those oversize flatbeds?)
Colliers International's senior EVP Clyde Stauff and SVP Chuck Wilson served as Dunkel's advisers in the company's $21.9M purchase of a 237k SF industrial building in La Mirada. The new facility will replace the firm's long-time home in the city, a move necessitated by Caltrans' widening of the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway. Clyde (above) tells us Dunkel worked with a long list of brokers before Colliers made the deal. Dunkel needed a large property with room to maneuver huge trucks and heavy machinery. The other challenge was to find something for sale in a limited market for purchase opportunities, because Dunkel wanted to own its HQ.
Chuck says Caltrans' timeline for acquiring and demolishing Dunkel's existing facility for its freeway widening project, plus tight market conditions added to the challenges. After looking at dozens of buildings in LA and Orange counties, the Colliers team found the building at 14555 Alondra Blvd; the only catch was that it wasn't for sale. The owner, Chicago-based Heitman, had plans and permits to demolish the building and construct a 270k SF, Class-A distribution building. Clyde and Chuck brought Heitman an attractive purchase offer in which Dunkel would completely refurbish the building for its own use. JLL's Luke McDaniel and Cameron Driscoll repped Heitman. Bwy, Dunkel's iconic sign in orange cursive letters, visible to 250,000 cars daily on I-5, will also be making the move to the new HQ.
SALES
Commercial Asset Group sold 5908 Barton Ave, a 3,312 SF creative office building in Hollywood, to an owner/user for just under $1.5M or $438/SF. The building formerly served as the HQ of FILTER, a music and entertainment magazine.
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Howard Building LLC sold Inglewood Plaza, a 101k SF, four-building community shopping center (3100-3180 W Imperial Highway) to two buyers for just under $27.5M. Cole Credit Property Trust IV bought the largest piece: three buildings with national tenants Burlington Coat Factory, CVS Pharmacy, and T-Mobile. G3H Investments bought the remaining building. According to Charles Dunn Co's Darrell Levonian, Justin Mendelson, and Fred Sheriff, who repped Howard, the center's trade area has gotten a boost from the Hollywood Park redevelopment just a few minutes away. The trio also worked with the buyers.
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Los Angeles Car Wash Corp bought two properties—a 14k SF Walgreens (1091 W Tehachapi Blvd in Tehachapi) and the 7,660 SF Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis Center (1212 Ninth St in Greeley, Colo) for a total of $11.2M. NAI Capital's Rod Delson repped the buyer. In the past three months, he's repped LA Car Wash in four acquisitions totaling more than $22M, helping the buyer fulfill a 1031 exchange requirement.
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Van Nuys-based CG Investments sold a 9,252 SF office building in Sherman Oaks, 14101 Valleyheart Dr, to a private investor for $3.2M. Charles Dunn's Roger Beck and Gelena Skya-Wasserman repped the seller, and Bogun Realty repped the buyer, which plans to occupy half of the building for a home nursing business.
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Raintree Partners bought a 39-unit, fully occupied apartment property in Studio City (4250 Coldwater Canyon Ave) for just over $9.5M. Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura's Jim Fisher and Mike Smith repped both sides. Raintree has acquired five multifamily properties in the SF Valley since 2011; this one is next to Sportsmen's Lodge, which is planning a major renovation and redevelopment including a 57k SF commercial center.
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Turner Real Estate Investments sold a 40k-plus SF office building in Riverside (11801 Pierce St) for just under $7.2M. CBRE’s Mike Kendall, Darla Longo, and Barbara Emmons along with Lee & Associates' Tom Pierik and Dave Mudge repped the seller. Continental Property Group's Traci Thomas repped the buyer, California Riverside LLC. The Class A building is 100% leased to three tenants: US Bancorp Real Estate, Regus, and American College of Healthcare.
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The Osborn Family Trust sold the Osborn Office Building, a three-story, 8,762 office building in Glendale (320 E Harvard St) to an LLC for $4.1M or $468/SF. NAI Capital's Shari Baner, who repped the seller, says the buyer is a local company that will use the building for its HQ and retain the name. The trophy building was designed by Osborn Architects in 1997, and features wood bowstring trusses, custom finished concrete masonry, copper and stainless steel detailing, tensile fabric canopies, and a 30-foot ceiling. The Prospect Group repped the buyer.
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Burnside Partners, an LA-based investment company, sold its 36-unit Burnside Lofts (649 S Burnside Ave) in the Miracle Mile neighborhood to a private investor for $8M. The vintage apartment building near Museum Row was recently restored, and features an ivy‐laced façade and marble lobby. Madison Partners' Darin Beebower repped both sides, closing his fourth transaction between the parties in less than a year.
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Duke Realty Corp bought nearly 96 acres in Perris for future development. The land, located near the Ramona Expressway and I-215, can support up to 2M SF of industrial space in two buildings, both of which would offer 36-foot clear heights, 185-foot truck courts, and extensive car and trailer parking. Colliers' Steve Bellitti and Thomas Taylor are handling build-to-suit opportunities for the REIT.
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An assignee of San Diego-based Zephyr Partners bought 25 acres in Murrieta from assignees of Umpqua Bank and Ambit Funding, with plans to develop a 550-unit multifamily project. Although the site is unentitled, the property drew 10 offers due to its location (Meyers Lane and Los Alamos Rd) and high-density zoning, according to Lee & Associates' Matt Weaver, who repped the sellers along with his colleagues Mike Strode, Al Apuzzo, and Patrick Miller.
LEASES
USC leased an additional 20k SF at the World Trade Center in Downtown LA (350 S Figueroa St) for expansion of its charter school, Hybrid High School. Charles Dunn Co's Chris Runyen, who repped landlord Jamison Properties, says the new lease doubles USC's space and brings occupancy at the 370k SF building to 74%. Travers Realty's Dennis Smith, Howard Feuerstein, and Cory Campbell repped the tenant.
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World Variety Product leased 107k SF of industrial space in Vernon, 5325 Soto St. Heger Industrial's Thomas Holland and Robert Thornburgh repped the landlord, Soto Industrial Center, in the $5M deal. Colliers' Thomas Condon repped the tenant.
DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION
Giving seniors a new place to snuggle on the Westside, C.W. Driver began construction in Playa Vista for Fountainview at Gonda West LA campus, a $100M, 460k SF retirement community. The 2.5-acre continuing care campus will provide 500-plus residents with a range of active living, healthcare, and in-home services. C.W. Driver contracted directly with the project's owner, Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging. Designed by Gensler, Fountainview at Gonda will offer 175 luxe apartment units for independent living as well as 24 assisted living and memory care. Completion: 2016.
FINANCING
Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp's Sharone Sabar arranged nearly $6.5M in financing for the purchase of a rent-controlled multifamily property in Santa Monica. The five-year loan amortizes over 30 years and is fixed at 4.75%.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Sarah Quinn was named director of client services and West Region marketing manager for Xceligent, a provider of commercial real estate info and marketing solutions. She brings five years of experience with ALM Real Estate Media Group.
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Jessica Foldes, formerly with JLL and Savills Studley, joined Madison Partners as a VP focused on landlord advisory services.
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Thorofare Capital, an LA-based alternative investment manager, added Ginn Downing as SVP-originations and Rizwan Mahmud as director of investments. Ginn has closed more than $4.5B in financings during her 20-year career in commercial RE finance, most recently as a branch manager and VP with ReadyCap Commercial. Rizwan comes to Thorofare from Värde Partners, an $8.5B global alternative investment firm.
