Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners have wrapped construction on the 1.7 million-square-foot Center at Needham Ranch in Santa Clarita.
The property is an 11-building industrial park which has been under construction since 2017. It has been fully leased since last year; tenants include DrinkPAK, LA North Studios, Illumination Dynamics and US AutoForce.
The project was built in partnership with the City of Santa Clarita. Oltmans Construction Co., which has an office in Thousand Oaks, served as the general contractor for the project. HPA Inc. was its architect and Alliance Land Planning & Engineering was its civil engineer.
“The Center at Needham Ranch has been an incredible project to be a part of and our local TCC team has valued our partnership with the City of Santa Clarita, which has been an avid supporter of the development since we broke ground seven years ago,” Philip Tsui, senior vice president for TCC, said in a statement.
“Needham Ranch has filled the demand for modern, Class A logistics space in the Santa Clarita Valley, and more specifically in the L.A. North industrial submarket, which continues to see demand from industrial users because of the area’s deep and talented labor pool and the overall quality of life in the Valley. We are excited to officially close this chapter and look forward to the next development opportunity in this market,” he added.
— Hannah Welk
New CEO For Latigo
Thousand Oaks-based Latigo Biotherapeutics Inc. has named veteran pharmaceutical industry executive Nima Farzan as its new chief executive.
Farzan replaces interim chief executive Desmond Padhi, who is also an operating partner of major funder Westlake Village BioPartners. Padhi is returning full time to the private equity firm.
Latigo was originally founded in 2020 as a biotech firm focused on developing non-opioid pain medicines. It emerged from stealth mode in February with an announcement of $135 million in funding, led by Westlake Village BioPartners.
Farzan brings more than two decades of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including most recently as chief executive of Kinnate Biopharma of San Francisco. He led Kinnate’s through an IPO that raised $270 million and then through its sale to Emeryville-based biotech firm Xoma Corp. in April for $120 million. Prior to his stint at Kinnate, Farzan served as chief executive of Redwood City-based vaccine company PaxVax. Before that, he held executive posts at Basel, Switzerland-based pharma giant Novartis.
“(Farzan’s) extensive industry leadership and clinical development experience will propel us toward our goal of becoming a world leader in discovering and developing non-opioid pain medicines,” Nancy Stagliano, Latigo’s board chair, said in a statement.
Farzan said he welcomes this next challenge.
“With our cutting-edge approach to pain management, I am confident in our ability to drive significant advancements in the field and enhance patient care where new, safer options are needed,” he said.
— Howard Fine
Pizzeria Expands in the Valley
A new pizzeria opened in Burbank in August.
Slice House by Tony Gemignani, owned and operated by franchiser Vinny Margott, is located at 108 E. Palm Ave.
The restaurant has New York, Sicilian, Grandma and Detroit-style pizzas, as well as other dishes. Its drink menu includes local craft beers and premium wines in addition to a selection of sodas.
Margott also owns Slice House locations in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.
“It’s an honor to further expand our footprint in Southern California, especially in the vibrant city of Burbank, and I look forward to welcoming the local community through the doors to experience our artisan pizzas, fresh pastas, and other Italian staples,” Gemignani said in a statement.
“We are confident Slice House Burbank will become a staple for the community,” Margott added in a statement.
Originally opened in San Francisco’s Italian neighborhood of North Beach in 2010, Slice House has since expanded to include 13 restaurants, all in California and Nevada, with Slice House in Burbank as its 14th location. It is developing other locations in the Valley region as well.
— Mark R. Madler
Neutraderm Makes $21 Million Buy
Neutraderm Inc., a medical-grade skin care manufacturer, purchased 20680 Nordhoff St. in Chatsworth for $21 million.
Neutraderm has occupied a space next to the property 15 years ago. The company will combine the two, as well as one other nearby structure, to create a large complex. The 115,000-square-foot complex will be the company’s West Coast flagship location.
“In our industry, you need to be tapped into both the West and East Coast, and there’s no better centralized location on the West Coast other than Los Angeles, particularly the San Fernando Valley area,” Samuel Raoof, chief executive of Neutraderm, said in a statement. “The West Coast has a long track record of leading innovation, technology and ingredient development for our industry. We have rapid growth plans for our business, which includes a larger presence on the East Coast, but they start here.”
The site will incorporate new technology to support sustainability initatives and optimize workflow, the company said.
Lee & Associates – L.A. North/Ventura Principals Erica Balin and Scott Caswell represented the buyer in the sale. Nordhoff XC was the seller.
“We are seeing a major influx of companies seeking innovative manufacturing spaces as they expand in Southern California,” Balin said in a statement. “This submarket is not only attracting new companies; those that are already here are seeking creative ways to expand their footprint and plant their flag firmly in the San Fernando Valley for the long term. This is a strategic real estate play for the company and will set the stage for their continued strategic operational efficiency.”
“Expanding their footprint in Los Angeles without having to relocate their operations was a win for our team, and we’re confident that this new complex will be a game-changer for their future growth plans,” Caswell added.
— Hannah Welk
Gray Duffy Expands Its Offices
Business litigation firm Gray Duffy LLP this summer expanded upon its growth spurt from last year.
The Woodland Hills-based firm took out additional space on its floor – to the tune of 2,000 square feet – as it added three new window offices, an additional conference room, numerous internal workstations and a wellness room. The firm knocked out the dividing wall to achieve a contiguous space.
Gray Duffy – which formed in 1990 – entered this space about 18 months ago, moving into the 19th floor at 21700 Oxnard St. in the Warner Center. It had previously been based in Encino but had outgrown the space as it built out an attorney headcount of about 16 attorneys. (The firm also maintains an office in Redwood City.)
The expansion brings Gray Duffy to about 10,400 square feet of space. It is approaching two years on a five-and-a-half-year lease at the location.
At the time of the move, firm managing partner Mike Eisenbaum noted Gray Duffy was in growth mode on account of a surge in workload from existing clients. The firm this summer added associate Jonathan Semerjian to its litigation team, which combined with the three others hired last year points to a 25% growth in that timeframe. This would place it within the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Top 25 Valley law firms based on attorney headcount.
With a focus on civil, construction and business litigation, Gray Duffy has amassed a wide variety of corporate clients – such as a major insurance providers – as well as public sector entities such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or L.A. Metro. The firm also handles automotive, employment, health care and personal injury matters.
The American Bar Association recently recognized Gray Duffy’s work in its appointment of partner Timothy Thornton and associate Katie Camerlengo to the organization’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section for the 2024-25 year. This panel serves as the bar association’s conduit to examine and discuss emerging issues and technologies in tort, trial and insurance law.
— Zane Hill
