LOS ANGELES — Behringer Harvard of Dallas has completed the $25 million transformation of a 19-story hotel into the four-star Hotel Palomar Westwood in Los Angeles. Located at 10740 Wilshire Blvd., the newly renovated hotel features 264 guest rooms with black and red lacquer furnishings, faux snakeskin dresser tops, snakeskin-patterned carpet and 42-inch flat-screen televisions; ultra-modern bathroom designs; a restaurant; a lobby; and a swimming pool. Gensler designed the hotel, while Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Cheryl Rowley Designs provided interior decorating services. R.D. Olson Construction served as general contractor of the project. San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels operates the hotel.
What area is your expertise? Sacramento region What trends do you see presently in office development in your area? Overall construction has slowed compared to the past few years. However, there are still a number of new office projects in the pipeline, which will deliver almost 2.4 million square feet within the next 18 months. Spec development has given way to build-to-suits and pre-leasing, which will benefit vacancy rates in the current market. Who are the active office developers in your area? Jackson Properties, Panattoni Development Co., Evergreen, Harsch, and Opus West are active in our area. Please name one or two significant office developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market? Two high-rise, Class A buildings are under construction on Capitol Mall, delivering nearly 800,000 square feet of new office space combined. 621 Capitol Mall, aka U.S. Bank Tower, will deliver 366,000 square feet/25-stories late 2008, on behalf of David Taylor Interests. 500 Capitol Mall, owned by Tsakopoulos Investments, will provide 430,000 square feet of office space to tenants by fall 2009. While this is a significant amount of space in a short time frame, the strength of the Downtown market should be able …
SANTEE, CALIF. — San Diego-based Sudberry Properties Inc. is developing The Marketplace at Santee, a 71,530-square-foot neighborhood shopping center located in Santee. Located at Mission Gorge Road and Carlton Hills Boulevard, the $28 million project will be anchored by Henry’s Farmers Market. Other confirmed tenants include Starbucks Coffee, T-Mobile, FedEx, Kinko’s, Sport Clips Haircuts, Jack in the Box, San Diego National Bank, Sleep Train, Glamour Nails and Cazadora’s Mexican Restaurant. Designed by CSHQA Architects, the project offers tenant spaces ranging in size from 1,200 to 5,000 square feet. Santee Retail LP is the property owner; Centre Builders is serving as general contractor for Henry’s Farmers Market; and C.W. Driver is the project’s overall contractor. Completion is slated for November 2008.
CORONA, CALIF. — Voit Commercial Brokerage, a member of CORFAC International, has closed two separate transactions in Corona. In the first transaction, Walter Frome and Bill Livesay of Voit’s Irvine, Calif., office represented the sellers, Dudley Sewell and Heather Passoa-Bond, in the disposition of a 10,875-square-foot industrial property. Located at 3155 Palisades Dr., the building sold for $1.8 million. Standard Drywall Inc. will occupy the building. Michael Hefner and Mike Vernick of Voit’s Anaheim, Calif., office represented the buyer, E & M Investments. Additionally, Frome and Livesay represented both parties in the sale and acquisition of a 6,082-square-foot office building, which is located at 4210 Green River Rd. in Corona. West Hollywood, Calif.-based Olympic Barrington Partnership sold the property to Ralph and Sharon Dion for $1.7 million.
STOCKTON, CALIF. — TCP Inc. is relocating its west coast distribution center and warehouse to the Massie Industrial Park in Stockton. The company, which manufactures energy efficient lighting products, will occupy a 130,000-square-foot facility. The property features state-of-the-art radio frequency technology and 10 loading docks, as well as office and meeting space. Slated to open July 1, the new facility will bring approximately 30 new jobs to San Joaquin County. The facility is owned by Denver-based ProLogis.
OCEANSIDE, CALIF. — Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial has brokered two transactions in Oceanside. John Orlando of Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial represented Plaza Blvd. LLC in the disposition of a 9,400-square-foot retail center. Ken and Ban Yako acquired the property, which is located at 2640-2642 Oceanside Blvd., for $2.7 million. Additionally, Bradley D’Angelo LLC purchased a six-unit multifamily investment property, which is located at 1318 S. Pacific St. Kirk and Laila Bottomly sold the 2,600-square-foot property for $1.1 million. Ray Adams of Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial represented the sellers in the transaction.
SEATTLE — Vulcan Inc. has completed the second phase of UW Medicine’s research hub in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Located at 815 Mercer St., the second phase consists of a 170,000-square-foot laboratory building and an 86,000-square-foot office building. In an effort to foster greater synergies and collaboration, several research groups are co-locating in the building, including the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, the Center for Lung Biology, the Diabetes & Obesity Center of Excellence, and a proposed Mitochondria and Metabolism Center run by the Department of Anesthesiology. Perkins+Will provided architectural services for the project; Sellen Construction served as general contractor; Magnusson Klemencic Associates served as structural engineer; Affiliated Engineers NW provided electrical and mechanical engineering services; Coughlin Porter Lundeen served as civil engineer and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol provided landscape architectural services.
GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. — Orange County, Calif.-based Burke Real Estate Group has acquired Cedargrove Business Park in Garden Grove for $10.2 million. Located at 13311 to 13341 Garden Grove Blvd., the four-building park offers 79,926 square feet of space. Mike Hefner and Paul Caputo of Voit Commercial Brokerage’s Anaheim Metro office represented the buyer; John Gates of Central DeAnza LLC represented the seller, Herd Partnership, in the transaction.
CENTURY CITY, CALIF. — Irvine, Calif.-based Snyder Langston has completed the construction of a 34,000-square-foot office building for Fox Studios. Located on the Fox Studios’ lot in Century City, the four-story building was completed on an accelerated time frame to accommodate one of the tenants. Digital Media is occupying the fourth floor of the facility, while Fox will use the first floor for dressing rooms and the second and third floors for post-production operations. Additionally, the property was constructed to meet LEED certification standards. John Wiedner of Gensler Architects provided architectural services for the project.
EL CAJON, CALIF. — San Diego-based Pacific Realty Advisors has purchased Pacific Mollison LP, a seven-building apartment community located at 520 S. Mollison Ave. in El Cajon. The 68-unit property sold for $5.8 million. Pacific Realty Advisors plans to remodel the project, including upgrades to the windows, roof, doors and additional structural necessities. The community offers 24 one-bedroom/one-bath units, 32 two-bedroom/two-bath units and 12 three-bedroom/two-bath units. Additionally, the property features a recreation room and 106 parking spaces. The buyer was self-represented in the transaction. The seller was not disclosed.