COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE : Virtualis Systems Leases Top of Media Studios North

Fresh from a round of venture capital-raising that netted the company $8.75 million, fast-growing Web “hosting� provider Virtualis Systems Inc. has agreed to lease the 43,000-square-foot top floor of Media Studios North, an office development near the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport.

The company, headed by 25-year-old Chief Executive Chris Lyman, started in a house three years ago before moving to interim facilities in Studio City. It plans to consolidate and relocate the entire operation by the end of the year, said Joel Kurtz, the Bailes & Associates real estate broker who negotiated the 10-year lease on Virtualis’ behalf.

The 215,000-square-foot second phase of Media Studios North, developed by Santa Monica’s M. David Paul Development, now has less than 65,000 square feet uncommitted, according to leasing agent Brad Feld of Cushman & Wakefield. Transactions are pending for the balance of the space, so David Paul may launch the next phase of about 100,000 square feet within the next three months, he said.

Virtualis, which secured funding from affiliates of publisher Knight Ridder, venture capital specialist Hambrecht & Quist, software developer Adobe and others, helps businesses establish and operate e-commerce operations. The company joins Media Studios North/Phase I anchor Walt Disney Co. and major second-phase tenants Equilon Industries and Microcaddam at the Burbank site.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed, but local real estate professionals estimated the value at $12.5 million based on comparative rents in the area.