Work on downtown L.A. apartment high-rise to start in fall

A $125-million high-rise apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles that was planned before the economic downturn will finally get underway in September, the developer said.

Wood Partners started planning the 22-story project in 2006 but shelved it two years later as the economy stalled, said Brian Hansen, the Atlanta company’s director of development for Southern California.

“Right now the downtown apartments market is doing very well,� Hansen said. “Unlike most urban centers, housing is lacking. The jobs-to-housing ratio is significantly out of whack.�

The building will replace a parking lot at the southwest corner of Hope and 8th streets, which is on the edge of the financial district and a few blocks of Staples Center.

The 290-unit complex has yet to be named, but will be modeled after Wood Partners’ Glass House Dallas and Glass House Denver. It will include shops on the ground floor.

The one- and two-bedroom units will have floor-to-ceiling glass on their exteriors, and rents are expected to run from $2,000 to $4,500 a month. The complex, designed by the Preston Partnership, will have an elevated pool deck and a club room with retractable glass walls. There will be a dining area, fire pit and garden, plus a rooftop deck.

“We’re designing this high-rise to provide an outdoor experience in an incredibly urban environment,� Hansen said. “Our demographic for this area — young professionals — has shown a clear desire for that indoor-outdoor connection.�

Leasing is set to begin in summer 2014.

Last month, a limited liability corporation controlled by San Francisco developer Carmel Partners bought a three-acre parking lot at 8th and Grand Avenue, where it is expected to build a 700-unit apartment complex. The project was planned by the seller, Beverly Hills developer Sonny Astani.

Tech firm Ixia to expand Calabasas headquarters

Calabasas technology company Ixia will expand its headquarters after signing a new lease worth about $26 million.

Ixia, which provides wireless network tests, agreed to expand its offices to 110,000 square feet from 83,000 square feet in a 10-year deal at Corporate Center – Calabasas, said David Binswanger, executive vice president of landlord Lincoln Property Co. Ixia employs 275 workers there.

The lease renewal and expansion were welcome because the Conejo Valley office market was particularly hard hit by the economic downturn, Binswanger said, and vacancy there is more than 20% in the wake of layoffs by local employersAmgen Inc.andCountrywide Financial Corp., the failed mortgage lender taken over byBank of America Corp.

“Obviously the valley has been in really bad shape since it took the one-two Amgen-Countrywide punch,� he said.

Ixia, which uses 26601 Agoura Road as its headquarters address, will occupy four buildings in Corporate Center – Calabasas. Expansion will begin shortly, said real estate broker Ted Simpson of Cushman & Wakefield, who represents the tech company.

In a separate deal at Corporate Center – Calabasas, UCLA purchased the office building at 26585 Agoura Road to be an outpost of its medical program, said broker Tom Dwyer of CBRE Group Inc. The sellers were Lincoln Property and PCCP.

Inland Empire’s east valley recovering

The industrial real estate market in the Inland Empire’s east valley, where many international companies have distribution hubs, is in full recovery, real estate brokers said.

“Uncertainty that may have existed in the first quarter of 2012 seems to have dissipated in the second quarter of the year,� a report by the Riverside office of brokerage Lee & Associates said.

Leasing activity and absorption of empty space were strong in the second quarter, the brokerage said, indicating that the market is continuing to stabilize, and positive absorption is expected to continue throughout 2012.

The vacancy rate in the east valley market jumped during the recession but has fallen to 8%, said David Illsley of Lee & Associates.

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