Condo Tower Developer High on Downtown

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Editor’s Note: An item in the Jan. 19 Real Estate Column headlined “Condo Tower Developer High on Downtown” misidentified the company Gregg Nelson and Arden Hearing work for. They are with Trumark Urban.

San Francisco’s Trumark Urban last week broke ground on a $100 million condominium project at 1050 S. Grand Ave., the first high-rise condo development to be built in the area in more than seven years.

The 22-story tower will include 151 luxury residential units and a 5,700-square-foot ground-floor retail component.

The shovels were in the ground shortly after the developer landed $77 million in construction financing. Real estate finance and investment management firm PCCP (Pacific Coast Capital Partners), which has more than $6 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, provided the funds.

Previously known as the Glass Tower, the condominium project was first approved nearly a decade ago. Trumark Urban closed on its purchase of the entitled land in November for about $15.6 million, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group Inc.

Arden Hearing, a managing director at Trumark Urban, said the developer has a lot of confidence in market demand downtown for for-sale housing.

“We think the time is right with the renaissance happening downtown; it’s a perfect time to be in Los Angeles,” he said. “Despite all the great amenities that are being created here, and a lot of apartment housing, we see very little for-sale condo housing. Demand is definitely there.”

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s capital markets team, including John Manning, Chris Casey, Reid McGlamery and Alex Witt, led financing efforts. Gregg Nelson and Arden Hearing advised Trumark, while Jed Lassere and Ron Bonneau advised PCCP.

Glendale Sale

A 16-story office building in Glendale sold last month for more than $83 million, a price not seen in the city since before the recession.

The 320,000-square-foot Class A office building at 505 N. Brand Blvd. sold late last month to Principal Real Estate Investors of Des Moines, Iowa, for $83.2 million, or about $260 a square foot. The last time an office building of any significant size sold for a higher per-foot price in the city was July 2007, according to CoStar data, when Legacy Glendale City Center, a 19-story building just down the street at 101 N. Brand, sold for nearly $149 million, or about $427 a square foot.

Despite pricing at the high end of the market, LaSalle Investment Management, a Jones Lang LaSalle affiliate, still sold the property at a loss. The Chicago investment group purchased the building in 2005 for nearly $109 million, 23 percent more than it was able to recoup in the year-end deal.

Pasadena Renewal

Pasadena engineering and construction management company Tetra Tech Inc. committed to keeping its headquarters in the San Gabriel Valley late last year.

The publicly traded company renewed its lease at 3475 E. Foothill Blvd. in late November, according to real estate sources. As part of the renewal – a deal that will run for more than five years – the company gave back about 7,000 square feet, leasing about 61,000 square feet in the 118,500-square-foot building owned by Wells Real Estate Funds, a real estate investment trust out of Norcross, Ga. Real estate sources estimate the deal was done at about $2.50 a square foot a month, valuing the lease at more than $9 million.

The company, which shares the three-story Class B building with insurance firm Bolton & Co., has occupied space in the two-building business park for about a decade. Prepaid credit card company Green Dot Corp. also takes space in the office campus.

Shadd Walker, a senior vice president in the downtown L.A. office of Colliers International, said Tetra Tech was committed to keeping its headquarters in Pasadena. He and Nico Vilgiate, also of Colliers, represented the landlord.

“I can’t speak for (Tetra Tech), but I think the project offers a central location, close proximity to lots of amenities, good freeway access and access to the Metro Gold Line, as well as a nice campus environment,” he said.

Todd Doney of CBRE Group Inc. represented the tenant in the deal.

Moving Matters

CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services and investment firm in Los Angeles, has named Alan Aufhammer an executive managing director. He will lead the company’s occupier advisory and transaction services group. Aufhammer joined CBRE from JLL, where he served as brokerage leader for the L.A. market. In his new role, Aufhammer will work with firm professionals across North and South America to enhance client services. CBRE has also named Craig Hendrickson a senior managing director in the group. Hendrickson joined the firm from Savills Studley, where he was an executive managing director. In his new role, Hendrickson will concentrate on transaction services leadership in the Americas. Both men will be based in Los Angeles. … San Francisco real estate firm Swig Co. has named Cory Kristoff a senior vice president of asset management. With the promotion, Kristoff will be based in the firm’s downtown L.A. office to lead the company’s asset and property management activities in Southern California. … L.A. real estate law firm Gilchrist & Rutter has named Yen N. Hope a partner. After the promotion, she will continue to focus on business, real estate and land-use litigation.

Staff reporter Bethany Firnhaber can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.

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