Redevelopment Know-How in NoHo

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Los Angeles’ real estate market is on the bounce-back, according to the past week’s news, in particular due to flashy developments and big leases in the downtown area. The major sectors seeing activity have been office and retail.

The tech firms are providing the positive buzz for office leases throughout California, and L.A. is no different. There, BlackLine Systems closed a deal to move from Calabasas to Woodland Hills to benefit from the expansion of the enterprise zone. BlackLine executive vice president of operations Mario Spanicciati said the move will save the company $350,000 over the next three years, making it completely worthwhile. The company will increase its 75-person staff by 50 during the year. The expanded enterprise zone is intended to boost interest in L.A., which has suffered major competition from neighboring cities.

On the retail front, a major section of the NoHo Arts District is close to being completed. Alongside the recently reopened Phil’s Diner, a Los Angeles landmark, construction is set to begin on a Laemmle Theatres seven-plex. The addition of the cinema complex will end the third phase of the NoHo Commons redevelopment plan. J.H. Snyder Co. has rethought the area along both sides of the Lankershim Boulevard from Magnolia Boulevard to Cumpston Street. With the addition of the Laemmle, an art-house chain based in L.A., the redeveloped area will gain notoriety with a movie-going community that has maintained a great deal of strength even in the middle of a 20 percent drop in box-office sales during the past year.

Phil’s Diner itself is one of the oldest and most renowned dining-car diners, which was redone and moved by current owners Casey and Malissa Hallenbeck to its new Lankershim site. The owners are excited by the new placement and are eager to be part of the project, which according to Greg Laemmle, president of the diner’s future neighbor, is expected to energize the area on a 24/7 basis.