Santa Monica Shoemaker Steps Into Playa Vista

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The Playa Vista area is gaining another high-profile creative tenant. Toms Shoes Inc., a five-year-old trendy canvas footwear company known for donating pairs of shoes to the needy, is moving its headquarters there.

The 10-year deal secures 70,850-square-feet of office space at 5404 Jandy Place at a cost of about $1.25 per square foot a month. Toms is leaving its smaller offices of less than 20,000 square feet in Santa Monica on 3025 Olympic Blvd., where the company has been for two years.

A key selling point for the two-story building was its price. Asking rents in Santa Monica average nearly $4 a square foot.

“Their decision was based on multiple things: mainly economics. Second to that was parking. Lastly, it was a very modest but creative environment that Toms was searching for,” said Trevor Belden, principal at Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Inc., which represented Toms.

The rapidly growing shoe company donates one pair of shoes to a child in a low-income country for every pair sold. The expansion follows an announcement by the company that it will be growing its product line in June.

Landlord Karney Management Co. was represented by John Bertram, executive vice president at Coldwell Banker Commercial WestMac. Colleague Tim Macker, senior vice president, also worked on the deal.

Lee broker Mike Tingus joined Belden in representing Toms.

Studio Offering

Fledging real estate investment trust Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. issued 6.75 million new shares last week as it works to repay debts and fund new acquisitions.

The secondary offering, expected to raise about $100 million, is expected to close May 3. The shares were priced at $14.62, a premium above the stock’s recent trading range. Shares closed at $14.19 on April 28.

Since going public in a $210 million IPO last June, Hudson Pacific has been aggressively buying up media and entertainment buildings statewide. It is led by Chief Executive Victor Coleman, who co-founded Arden Realty Inc., which was sold to the real estate division of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co. for $4.8 billion in 2006.

Hudson Pacific’s portfolio comprises 12 properties totaling about 3.4 million square feet. Its most valuable asset is Rincon Center, a popular San Francisco mixed-used complex featuring shops, restaurants, apartments and offices. Hudson Pacific acquired 51 percent of the complex, and may use some of the secondary offering’s proceeds to acquire the rest from its joint venture partner, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The company’s shares have been on a downward slide since a July 2010 public offering, after which stock price briefly rose above the $17 mark. Craig Mailman, an analyst at Cleveland-based KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., which is co-managing the offering, wrote in a note to clients that he expects the additional liquidity provided by the offering to boost the share price.

“We suspect an equity issuance will prove to be a catalyst for the stock,” Mailman stated.

The underwriters include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities. Hudson Pacific, which is announcing earnings May 10, declined comment.

Good Fellow

Attorney Arthur Mazirow was named a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, an organization that provides professional support and seeks to advance real estate law.

A mediation and arbitration expert who runs his own Century City real estate dispute-resolution firm, Mazirow was elected to the Rockville, Md., organization’s board of directors. Fellows must have at least 10 years of experience in the field, and are evaluated by their reputation and demonstrated abilities.

“It’s a very nice compliment from my peers, of which I am deeply appreciative,” said Mazirow, 77, who plans to work on alternative dispute-resolution issues.

Mazirow has decades of experience in commercial and industrial real estate, including work as a transactional attorney, litigator, arbitrator and expert witness. He has lectured at local universities, as well as the Los Angeles County Bar Association and other groups.

Staff reporter Jacquelyn Ryan can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 228.

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