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No-Name Center One of the Most Lucrative in Valley

No-Name Center One of the Most Lucrative in Valley Real Estate by Shelly Garcia It doesn’t even have a name, at least not one displayed at its entrances, but a regional shopping center at Victory Boulevard and Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills is well known to retailers and shoppers alike. As the story goes, retailers were so anxious to move into the 220,000-square-foot center back in the early 1980s that they put up their own walls to do so. Two decades later, the center has enough staying power to warrant a $2-million-plus facelift. Pacific/Youngman Woodland Hills, which acquired the center from a JC Penney division in the early 1980s, expects to complete the remodeling, limited to the external facades, by the summer. Nothing had been done to the complex since Pacific acquired it and constructed additional retail spaces along the perimeter that stretches from Victory Boulevard to Owensmouth Avenue. “It’s all elective,” said Arne Youngman, a partner with Pacific/Youngman. The center currently houses Nordstrom Rack, Circuit City, Men’s Wearhouse, Goldsmith Golf Centers, Staples, Aaron Bros. and a number of smaller retailers and restaurants. According to Arne Youngman, partner with Pacific/Youngman, a number of the tenants register more than $300 a square foot in sales, a brisk volume for a local center. Brokers say the only spaces in the center that ever turn over are stores that have been closed as a result of restructuring within their organizations. Two large vacancies currently exist as a result of such restructuring. Bookstar, a former tenant, was shuttered by its parent Barnes & Noble and Three D Bed & Bath went out of business. According to Jack Persky, a vice president with CB Richard Ellis, AT & T; Wireless is currently negotiating for space, as are several other companies. Pacific has no plans to add more space to the center. “That shopping center leads that market in rents and in down time without a doubt,” said Chris Wilson, president of Wilson Commercial Real Estate. “Every tenant in the world wants to be in that center. Everybody loves it.” Antelope Valley Sale The Lancaster Commerce Center has been sold to Passco Real Estate Enterprises Inc. for $35.3 million. The retail complex, developed in 1985, includes 26 buildings and 300,077 square feet of rentable space at Avenue K and the Antelope Valley Freeway. The roster of tenants includes Ralphs Marketplace, Target, Pic ‘n Save, 24 Hour Fitness and Ross Dress for Less, along with other regional and national retailers and service companies. Alan Krueger, Gregory Brown and Edward Hanley at Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. represented Passco, which is based in Orange County, and the seller, an investment group whose name was not disclosed. Bigger Rigging Branam Enterprises Inc., a special effects rigging company, has acquired a 76,000-square-foot industrial facility at Rye Canyon Business Park in Valencia. The purchase price was not disclosed. The company will be relocating from a 21,078-square-foot building in Chatsworth. Branam will employ about 25 people at the new site at 28210 Constellation Road. Branam sold its former facility to Sy’s Carpets for $1.9 million. Scott Caswell, a broker with Delphi Business Properties, represented the buyer in the purchase and the sale of its Chatsworth property. Craig Peters, a broker with CB Richard Ellis, represented the seller, Legacy Partners, for the Valencia property. Vince Norris of Delson Norris represented the buyer of the Chatsworth property. Property Management Cushman & Wakefield was hired by ScanlanKemperBard Cos. in Portland to manage four local properties, including two in the San Fernando Valley. Cushman will assume management duties for Warner Atriums, a 122,000-square-foot office building in Woodland Hills, and Valley Corporate Plaza, a 153,000-square-foot facility in Van Nuys. The company also picked up assignments in Redlands and San Diego for a total of just under 500,000 square feet. The addition of these assignments increases Cushman & Wakefield’s property management portfolio by 30 percent in Southern California, to nearly 17 million square feet. Van Nuys Sale An owner-user purchased a 29,040-square-foot industrial building in Van Nuys for somewhat more than $1.2 million. The purchase includes 1.63 acres. Paul Van Ostrand bought the property at 7800 Deering St. to house his architectural signage building. Nick Gregg, a broker with CB Richard Ellis, represented the buyer. Senior reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 676-1750, ext. 14 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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