Real estate

Combined Properties Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based investment company specializing in shopping centers, made a number of investments in the San Fernando Valley during the boom times of the 1980s, then began shying away from the Los Angeles area when the economy went south. But the company has shed its fears. Combined Properties just purchased the Granada Hills Marketplace, a 200,000-square-foot shopping center at the intersection of Chatsworth Street and Zelzah Avenue. And officials vow that won’t be the last of Combined Properties’ local acquisitions. “We opened our Southern California office shortly after we purchased Loehmann’s Plaza” in Reseda, which Combined Properties bought in 1989, said Pamela Carrington, vice president of the company’s West Coast office based in Laguna Niguel. “With the downturn in the market, we held up our plans, but we’re starting up again.” The newly built Granada Hills Marketplace developed by J.H. Snyder Co. was not on the block, according to Cliff Goldstein, a partner at Snyder. “We got an unsolicited offer from them and they were willing to pay a price that made us agree,” he said. Goldstein and Combined Properties declined to discuss the purchase price for the shopping center, although sources placed it at around $40 million. Catherine diLorenzo and Cheryl Pestor at Beitler Commercial in Los Angeles represented the buyers. The Granada Hills Marketplace, which opened earlier this year, houses Ralph’s, Long’s Drugs, Office Max, Suitmax, Michaels, and a number of fast-food chains. It is about 94 percent leased, according to Goldstein. Combined Properties is a privately held company owned by the Haft family, which owns the Crown bookstore chain as well as other businesses. In Southern California, Combined Properties also owns the Mart of Montebello. Combined Properties said it plans no changes in the shopping center. About three to four storefronts, or about 15,000 to 26,000 square feet, remain to be filled, according to Carrington. “Since it is a brand-new property, we’re planning on finishing the leasing on it and running it as is,” she said. Big activity for little spaces A new industrial park under construction in Thousand Oaks reports 17 of the 22 units in escrow and another four units are pending contracts, according to Bob Pettit, president of Bob Pettit Commercial Realty in Thousand Oaks. The 145,000-square-foot Grande Vista Business Park is under development by Burke Real Estate Group in Santa Ana. It was designed by Neil Scribner Architecture and is scheduled for completion this fall. The park offers high-tech manufacturing companies, particularly start-ups, small, state-of-the-art facilities ranging from 5,600 square feet to 8,000 square feet. The space is selling for $96 per square foot to $99.50 per square foot, said Pettit. “This is a real niche market,” he said. And a hot one, judging from the interest shown by buyers. Pettit said about five of the units have been sold to companies that are currently located in the San Fernando Valley. The balance of the buildings so far have been sold to Ventura County companies. “There’s nothing around like this, where a guy can buy his own little building,” Pettit said. To adhere to local zoning regulations, the buildings have been designed with Spanish architecture, including tile roofs. Pettit said the El Ni & #324;o rains have significantly delayed completion of the project. Builders broke ground in November 1997, and the development is now about three to four months behind, he said. Notes and news Salt Lake City-based Arroyo Glen Co. has sold a 45,000-square-foot industrial building to garment manufacturer J.T. Contractors for $1.8 million. Brent Weirick at Seeley Co. in Encino represented the sellers. J.T. Contractors had been a tenant in the building, which is located on Arroyo Street in San Fernando. An investment group, WPL L.L.C. has acquired a 50,000-square-foot multi-tenant business park at 7625 Hayvenhurst Ave. in Van Nuys, according to Weirick, who represented the buyer. WPL L.L.C. bought the property, which houses about 17 businesses, from Hayvenhurst Partners for $2.8 million. Van Nuys industrial deal Irvine-based Lincoln Property Co. has purchased a 21-acre industrial park in Van Nuys from the Stahl Trust, according to Mike Clark, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., who represented both the buyer and seller. The Stahl Trust sold the five-building park, which is near the intersection of Sepulveda and Roscoe boulevards. Tenants include ITT Gilfilan, Impulse Designs, ABC Supply Co. and Dal Tile, Clark said. “There’s excess land there, so eventually Lincoln wants to develop on the site,” he said. Glendale sale closes The proposed $95.8 million sale of a downtown Glendale property from a group of corporate pension funds to the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has gone through, said Ron Azad, project manager at Westmark Realty Advisors, which advised the pension funds. Daniel Mann Johnson & Mendenhall has designed a 22-story office building to be built on a vacant portion of the property, adjacent to a 19-story building in which Walt Disney Co. is a major tenant. The transaction included both properties. If the retirement system carries out its original plan, it will end up with 700,000 square feet of office space at the site, almost double what is currently there, Azad said. The property encompasses a full city block on North Brand Boulevard at Wilson Avenue and is part of the Glendale City Center. Martin Sawa of CB Richard Ellis assisted the seller in the transaction, as did Bill Boyd, formerly of CB and now with Grubb & Ellis.