Lincoln Property Co., sensing an opportunity to get ahead of rising rents in Hollywood, has swooped in to buy a three-building package in Burbank from Beverly Hills’ Kennedy Wilson.

In a deal that closed in the last couple of weeks, Lincoln acquired the Burbank Collection, a package of three buildings and two parking garages at 303 and 333 N. Glenoaks Blvd. and 300 E. Magnolia Blvd., for $84.2 million, or about $258 a square foot.

David Binswanger, executive vice president at Lincoln, said the Dallas company has holdings in Glendale, Pasadena and Hollywood and has seen values begin to rise.

What’s more, he said, he feels the market is on the cusp of repeating a trend last seen in the late 1980s, when creative businesses were chased out of Hollywood by rising rents.

“We are always looking for good deals,” he said. “With Glendale, Pasadena and Hollywood we could define the flow of tenants and make a fairly educated assessment of what was happening in Burbank. This presented a good size asset for us to get involved with.”

Representatives of Kennedy Wilson did not return a call seeking comment.

Binswanger said his company plans to spend heavily to open up the common areas and create more flow among the buildings to establish a campuslike feel. Additions will include outdoor fire pits and a food truck program, amenities that he said are available in the nearby Media District but not in downtown Burbank.

There is room to reposition the buildings. Of the three, the 63,000-square-foot Magnolia property is in the best shape, with the vacancy rate at just 4 percent and asking rents of about $2.40 a foot a month, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group Inc. At 303 N. Glenoaks, a 13.7 percent-vacant, 180,000-square-foot building, asking rents range from $2.15 to $3 a foot, according to CoStar. The greatest vacancy in the package is at 333 N. Glenoaks, which is just 76 percent leased. Asking rents there are about $2.40 a foot a month. In the first quarter, average asking rents in the city were $3.24.

An investment broker covering the market who was not involved in the deal said that given the package’s location outside the hotter Media District, the price Lincoln paid made sense.

Properties in Burbank, he said, have traded for around $300 a square foot, and as high as $350 a foot in the Media District.

Still, the broker cautioned, he is starting to see investment dollars drive values in the market, not rent rolls, a recipe that might cause some investors to overpay.

Waterfront Legacy

Legacy Partners will further its presence in the area with the purchase of a 31-acre apartment complex on the Marina del Rey waterfront.

The Foster City company purchased leasehold interests in the Mariners Bay Apartments for $83.5 million, about $220,000 per unit, from the Mariners Bay Co.

Mariners Bay, at 14000 Palawan Way, contains 379 apartments spread across seven buildings, as well as 409 boat slips and private docks for rent. The property was about 95 percent occupied at the time of sale.

Legacy bankrolled the purchase with a $96.4 million, interest-only loan sourced by CBRE. The balance of the funds will be used to finance a full-scale renovation of landscaping, docks and apartment interiors,.

The property sits on Los Angeles County-owned land and is subject to a long-term lease that runs until 2061.

Brandon Smith, vice president for debt and structured finance at CBRE, said Legacy was attracted to the property due to its location on the waterfront and the company’s familiarity doing deals in the Marina del Rey submarket.

Representatives of Legacy could not be reached for comment.

Marc Renard and Manfred Schaub of Cushman & Wakefield represented Mariners Bay in the deal. Legacy was represented internally.

Music Revival

When Vault 350 opened in 2004 it was the only live concert venue in downtown Long Beach. The music came to a halt abruptly when owner Mitchell Stewart died of a heart attack in 2008.

Now, after failed attempts in 2009 and 2014 to revive the once-thriving venue at 350 Pine Ave., another developer is taking a shot at bringing live music back to the area.

Michelle Molina, managing partner of Long Beach developer Millworks, has a plan to build a location with a full-service restaurant, live music venue and space for special events.

“Long Beach has a great and long-running history of art and music,” she said. “We’re confident we can fill it with some great art acts, whether it’s spoken word, dance, opera, rock ’n’ roll, indie, local or international.”

Millworks acquired the property from Pasadena’s East West Bank for $3.5 million. But the developer still has a lot of work to do before it’s ready to cut ribbons. Millworks closed escrow on the property two weeks ago and plans to survey over the next six months what is left of the former Vault and the failed construction projects that followed.

Molina, who is married to Molina Healthcare Chief Financial Officer John Molina, hopes the venue will open within 18 months to 2 years.

Staff reporters Jonathan Diamond and Covey Son contributed to this report.