Los Angeles

The changing real estate landscape is challenging investment companies to alter their strategies and even diversify their portfolios. Foremost Companies is one such entity. The company recently completed the acquisition of two adjacent shopping centers in Diamond Bar, for a purchase total of around $23 million.

An extensive renovation process recently resulted in the record-setting sale of a commercial asset near the CBS Television City. The Souferian Group just netted $19.6 million in the offloading of the office property at 8075 W. 3rd Street to buyer Continental Development Inc.

Last year, Sunbelt Enterprises LLC orchestrated an initiative to move a substantial amount of its commercial real estate portfolio. The company started by naming Robert Griffith and Rick Scheckter, both Executive Managing Directors with NGKF Capital Markets, in charge of that effort. Since then, Sunbelt has completed the sale of a considerable amount of the space it put up for sale, culminating with the recent sale of six properties totaling more than 1.1 million square feet of space in SoCal and Las Vegas.

The former Mervyn’s building at Ridgecrest Town Center in the city of Ridgecrest is under new ownership. The retail asset was acquired from China Lake 700, LLC by Newport Coast-headquartered investor El Rey Properties, LLC.

As the city’s population continues to grow, and its core continues its extensive revamp, L.A.’s hospitality market is matching that growth with consistent gains in terms of ADR and occupancy over the past twelve months. The city’s development pipeline is shouldering a large chunk of the weight add by new rooms under construction in the state, and Commune Hotels recently revealed that it will be adding to it with two new planned facilities in the Hollywood submarket.

A multifamily located at a meeting point between the Palms, Mar Vista and West L.A. was recently involved in a refinancing worth a total of $31.8 million. Oak Grove Capital Vice President Levi Brooker was the originator of the loan, acting on behalf of the owner of the Westwood Villa Apartments.

Greenland USA is adding a new hotel to its offering at the Metropolis mixed-use development in downtown Los Angeles. The company, a subsidiary of Greenland Group in Shanghai, has announced that it has inked an agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group for the opening of the city’s first Indigo-branded hotel. The hotel will be integrated into the $1 billion development project that Greenland is currently building in the proximity of the city’s Financial District and L.A. Live. IHG and Greenland are frequent partners, the latter operating seven facilities bearing IHG brands.

Tesla Motors is definitely what you call a company on the up. The Elon Musk-led entity has grown in recent years to a point where their unveilings carry the weight of an Apple keynote. Faced with the need to expand, the company recently sealed an agreement for a dealership space in Buena Park in Orange County, CA. Tesla has leased the space from RST Associates LLC, with both parties being represented in the deal by Avison Young representative, Jodi V. Meade.

Eighth & Grand, a new mixed-use community that occupies a three-acre block in downtown Los Angeles, is now available for pre-lease. The developer, San Francisco-based Carmel Partners, has launched the property’s pre-leasing office at 433 West 7th St., effectively starting the occupancy process for the 700 luxury units. The community is located in the vicinity of the city’s South Park neighborhood, one of the fastest growing districts of L.A.

The Juanita Tate Marketplace in Los Angeles was recently acquired by locally based Optimus Properties LLC. The redevelopment project located at the corner of Slauson Avenue and Central Avenue is a venture that has taken its developers nearly 17 years to complete. Developed by a partnership consisting of Infinity Redevelopment LLC, the Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles and the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, Juanita Tate Marketplace is regarded as “an incredible asset that serves a very underserved community in a first class fashion” by its new owner.