Century City

Los Angeles businessman John E. Anderson's real estate acquisition spree will soon include his largest purchase to date: a Century City high-rise. An affiliate of Duesenberg Investment Co., the real estate group headed by Anderson and his wife, Marion, has agreed to pay about $185 million for the 28-story tower at 1900 Avenue of the Stars.

The Los Angeles Planning Commission has unanimously approved Westfield Group's plan to expand its Century City shopping center after the developer agreed to make a key modification. The 6-0 vote came Thursday after Westfield revealed that it had settled with two of four parties that had appealed the project over concerns about the building's height, traffic and security.

Triton Group Ltd., a multi-industry firm with annual sales of $303 million, said Friday that it will move its corporate headquarters from Century City to La Jolla by Sept. 1. Triton will lease office space in the same building that houses Intermark, a diversified San Diego-based company that in March bought 18% of Triton's stock and options to purchase an additional 20%.

A Century City crane accident has resulted in a $2.9-million verdict for a crane operator who was thrown from the machine and injured, his lawyer said this week. Charles Laurutis, 54, was awarded the damages Friday, stemming from injuries he suffered in July, 1986, during the construction of the 17-story Marriott Hotel. At the time, Laurutis was an employee of Tripco Corp.

Imagine building 35 custom homes on speculation at an average sales price of $2 million. Now imagine those homes located a short drive from Beverly Hills and a short walk to high-rise offices, a legitimate theater, a five-star hotel frequented by kings and presidents, a recently expanded shopping center, new movie houses and the 20th Century Fox film lot. Great location, right? If you haven't already guessed, it's Century City.

CAROL BURNETT is buying a condo in Century City and selling her house in Pacific Palisades. Both properties are in escrow: the condo, for about $2 million; the house, for a bit more than the $2.45-million asking price. The new condo, a detached home, is in the gated Century Woods Estates, developed by Watt Luxury Housing. The unit is just being completed, and the actress/comedian's decorators are working on the 5,500-square-foot interiors to suit her taste.

Orion Pictures is making a new and visible presence in Century City with its relocation this weekend of nearly 400 employees to six floors (80,000 square feet) of the Eighteen Eighty Eight Building--not on Constellation Avenue, as would seem appropriate, but on Century Park East. Besides the move, from several locations, "Orion" is about to replace "Tiger International" on the 18-year-old, 21-story tower, owned by an affiliate of JMB Realty and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp. has announced that Century City North, the 26-story building at 10100 Santa Monica Blvd. that it manages, is 97% leased. JMB said that the Century City office market is 90% leased.

International Creative Management expects to move its headquarters to Century City, the second major talent agency with plans to migrate from Beverly Hills. ICM agreed Friday to sublease three floors of office space -- about 95,000 square feet -- in the 35-story MGM Tower at 10250 Constellation Blvd. "It gives us room to grow," ICM spokesman David Shane said.

Princess Cruises has leased 23,880 square feet in Century City North, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, for 12 years, with a lease value of $11,887,678. The Royce Co., Los Angeles, represented the tenant in the transaction, while JMB Properties represented the building. The lease for the entire 26th floor makes a total of 83,069 square feet that Princess Cruises will occupy in the building.