Los Angeles

For the first time since taking in 2013, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has addressed one of the many problems plaguing the metropolis. The local official held the keynote speech at the Los Angeles Business Council’s 2014 Mayoral Housing, Transportation & Jobs Summit, recently organized at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, in which he discussed future policies that would remedy the city’s housing issues, with a focus on the affordable housing sector.

Two commercial properties in the Los Angeles area have received financing this week, with a total of approximately $18 million in financing raised for the two assets. HFF worked on behalf of the owners of a class A specialty center in Brentwood, while a Johnson Capital team secured funds for a Pasadena retail center.

After recently trading hands between seller Mani Brothers Real Estate Group and buyer Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors for a fee of around $177 million, the 801 Tower now also has a new property manager. The iconic office property will be managed by Transwestern, with the company being newly-appointed by owner Cornerstone. Transwestern’s on-site management team will be led by Senior Property Manager Annie Hessen.

National City Tower, a historic adaptive reuse project in downtown Los Angeles, recently traded hands in a deal worth $43.26 million. Canada-based RC Acquisitions LLC acquired the property from seller National City Towers LLC, in a deal arranged on behalf of both parties by Janet Neman and Bryan Glenn of full-service regional real estate firm Charles Dunn Company.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Los Angeles area office market has seen a large number of transactions, with properties totaling nearly 300,000 square feet of space in the Pasadena, Conejo Valley and Burbank submarkets trading hands.

Huntington Oaks Delaware Partners was recently awarded with a total of $71 million in financing from lender Bank of America. The financing deal was announced by LUCESCU REALTY, an investment real estate services firm that handled the process on behalf of the borrower. According to the official announcement, the developer required the financing of Huntington Oaks Shopping Center in the City of Monrovia, CA. The specifics of the financing package arranged by LUCESCU REALTY include a $60.5 million senior mortgage and a $10.5 million mezzanine loan that replace a $51 million mortgage from Wachovia Bank.

One of the most coveted office assets in the West Hollywood submarket recently gained a brand new tenant and re-signed an existing one. The owner, developer and manager of Pacific Design Center Charles S. Cohen, has announced that two leasing contracts have been signed at one of the property’s three buildings. The tenant that has re-committed to its presence at the Pacific Design Center’s Green Building is Visit West Hollywood, the official visitor-marketing center for the City of West Los Angeles. The new resident at the building is Westside Affiliated Holdings, Inc., a local-based homebuilder, has announced that it is moving operations from its old Beverly Hills location.

Southern California’s industrial market is clearly improving lately and Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. is also jumping on the bandwagon. The real estate investment trust recently announced the cash-funded acquisition of 9120 Mason Avenue in Chatsworth, CA for a reported fee of $30.5 million. The company specializes in owning and operating industrial properties located in SoCal infill markets.