Tremendous absorption helped drive continued improvement in the Burbank and Glendale office markets in the third quarter. Tenants took 133,500 square feet off the market in Glendale, pushing the vacancy rate down more than two points. At 18.3 percent, it also was about 4 points below a year ago, according to data from the L.A. office of Colliers International. Bill Boyd, senior managing director in the Glendale office of Charles Dunn Co. Inc., said that amount of absorption is nearly unheard of in the Glendale market. “That’s a huge number for one quarter,” said Boyd. “The vacancy rate hasn’t been this low in 17 years. It’s very dramatic.” In order to attract those new leases, landlords have had to remain conservative with asking rates. Glendale’s rates remained flat at $2.38 a square foot, down six cents from a year ago. “For a while there was impasse where the landlords were asking for essentially unrealistic rents that were not really driven by the market but driven by their pro-forma numbers based on what they bought the building for,” said Scott Steuber, principal at Avison Young Inc. “Now I’m seeing there’s a meeting in the middle.” Among those moving into Glendale’s office space was Tim & Eric Inc., creators of the Adult Swim television series “Tom Goes to the Mayor” and “Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule.” In August, the firm leased 15,400 square feet at two previously vacant buildings at 1500 and 1442 Flower Street, owned by Avalon Investment Co. The five-year deal is valued at about $1.5 million. The production company is consolidating its office and production space from several Hollywood offices. The market also has benefited from some of its marquee tenants expanding – such as DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., which recently leased additional office space. “Large tenants have not downsized here like they have in downtown L.A.,” said Tim Miller, a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “There are a lot of renewals but Nestle didn’t downsize by one square foot in 2013. In the last several renewals in Glendale, there hasn’t been any downsizing and that’s helped a lot.” Meanwhile, Burbank absorbed 118,000 square feet of office space. Considering that it is also following a second quarter in which 137,000 square feet were taken off the market, it’s among some of the highest absorption Burbank has ever experienced. In all, its vacancy rate dropped nearly 3 points to 17.3 percent in the last year. Third quarter asking rates increased two pennies to $2.92 a square foot, though that was still down 9 cents from a year ago. However, it continues to struggle, at least statistically, from the 450,000-square-foot Burbank Tower at 3900 W. Alameda Ave., which remains empty after Walt Disney Co. vacated last year. Developer Jeff Worthe bought the building with plans to update it for creative tenants but that is a ways off. “Burbank remains healthy although it doesn’t seem like it based on vacant space – but that’s mostly one building,” Miller said. – Jacquelyn Ryan Main Events A nearly 151,000-square-foot office building in Burbank traded hands in July for $49 million. The building at 2600 W. Olive Ave. was bought by Granite Properties Inc. of Plano, Texas from Legacy Partners Commercial Inc. of Foster City. The office building was constructed in 1986 and was 87 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants that include Disney Worldwide, Emmis Radio Group and Ion Media. The Glendale Financial Center, a Class A office property adjacent to the Americans at Brand mall, sold to a foreign investor in July for $27.2 million. The six-story building at 225 W. Broadway was purchased by Hyun 1996-2 Family Lp from Ag/cambra 225 Broadway LLC. Its 122,000 square feet of offices are about 95 percent leased mostly to health-care related tenants, including the California Nurses Association and HealthCare Partners. Hyun is located at Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, but the broker described the buyer as a foreign investor. The 92-unit Fairesta Park Apartment in Glendale sold in August for $24.3 million. The 86,000-square-foot building at 3250 Fairesta St. was purchased by CNS Focused Investments of Long Beach from Sterman Co. Inc. of Encino and Empire Investments LLC. of Los Angeles. The property was 98 percent leased at the time of sale. In August, global advertising, marketing and communications firm Omnicom Group moved into nearly 21,000-square-feet at 4000 W. Alameda Ave. in Burbank. The firm will occupy the entire fourth floor of the six-story building, owned by Alameda Enterprises Inc. of San Juan Capistrano. A 2-property office portfolio in Glendale traded hands in July for $11 million. The office buildings totaling 110,688 square feet were purchased by Atlantic Pearl Investments Inc. of West Hollywood from UDR Inc. of Glen Allen, Va. The properties at 1011 Grandview Ave. and 1015 Grandview Ave sit on 3.6 acres on Grandview Avenue, between San Fernando Road and W. Glenoaks Boulevard. Burbank Office Market At a Glance Inventory 6.83 million square feet Under Construction 0 Class A Asking Rents $2.92 Glendale Office Market At a Glance Inventory 6.2 million square feet Under Construction 0 Class A Asking Rents $2.38