Kor Group

Developer KOR Group has contracted with Taisei Construction to convert an aging office building in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles into an apartment complex. The 13-story building at 612 S. Flower St. and Wilshire Boulevard has been empty for eight years. Los Angeles-based KOR Group plans to convert the office property built in 1949 to 322 apartments over street-level stores and parking. The project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2003.

The parking lot behind Hollywood landmark restaurant Musso & Frank Grill was purchased by a Los Angeles developer who intends to build a mixed-use complex on the site. Champion Real Estate Co. bought the paved 1.1-acre site behind the Hollywood Boulevard restaurant and between Cherokee and Las Palmas avenues from Common Fund. The price was not disclosed, but Hollywood real estate experts familiar with the property valued it at nearly $10 million. Last year, Champion paid $20 million for a 2.76-acre property at the northeast corner of Highland and Selma avenues, which it also intends to develop.

A 45-story Las Vegas condominium tower that went bankrupt in the real estate crash has been repositioned by Southern California investors and units are back on the market at half their previous prices. The former Panorama Tower North, now known as the Martin, was third in a trio of luxury high-rises conceived during the last real estate boom and built near the Strip. By the time it was completed in 2009, the local condo market had collapsed. Santa Monica investor iStar Residential took title of the property through a foreclosure and brought in the Kor Group of Los Angeles to conduct a redesign of the tower on Dean Martin Drive.

A 45-story Las Vegas condominium tower that went bankrupt in the real estate crash has been repositioned by Southern California investors and units are back on the market at half their previous prices. The former Panorama Tower North, now known as the Martin, was third in a trio of luxury high-rises conceived during the last real estate boom and built near the Strip. By the time it was completed in 2009, the local condo market had collapsed. Santa Monica investor iStar Residential took title of the property through a foreclosure and brought in the Kor Group of Los Angeles to conduct a redesign of the tower on Dean Martin Drive.

The downtown Los Angeles apartment building know as the Pegasus has been sold to Chicago real estate investment trust Equity Residential for $100 million. It was one of the largest residential property sales ever in the central business district and a sign that downtown's revitalization has caught the attention of national institutional investors, said real estate broker Marc Renard of Cushman & Wakefield. "Equity Residential's purchase is a tremendous endorsement of downtown L.A.," Renard said.

The parking lot behind Hollywood landmark restaurant Musso & Frank Grill was purchased by a Los Angeles developer who intends to build a mixed-use complex on the site. Champion Real Estate Co. bought the paved 1.1-acre site behind the Hollywood Boulevard restaurant and between Cherokee and Las Palmas avenues from Common Fund. The price was not disclosed, but Hollywood real estate experts familiar with the property valued it at nearly $10 million. Last year, Champion paid $20 million for a 2.76-acre property at the northeast corner of Highland and Selma avenues, which it also intends to develop.

The Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles, considered one of the region's finest examples of Art Deco architecture, is slated to be converted from offices to condominiums as downtown's housing construction boom rolls on. Hotel and apartment developer KOR Group said Tuesday that it purchased the 13-story building at 849 S. Broadway and an adjacent parking lot from Denly Investments for $20 million.

The historic Broadway department store building at one of the most famous intersections in Los Angeles is being converted to 96 luxury condominiums. Kor Group has started renovation of the 10-story building at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that opened in 1927 as a Dyas department store and later became a Broadway branch. It has been vacant for years.

The jazzy red neon sign on the roof of the Ravenswood apartments in Hancock Park has been a semaphore of swellegance since 1928. In August, the city moved closer to making the building an official landmark when the Cultural Heritage Commission recommended the Ravenswood as a Historic Cultural Monument. The seven-story Art Deco hothouse at 570 N. Rossmore has kept its aura from Hollywood's golden era, when Paramount Studios was rumored to have leased apartments there.

As the travel business struggles to get back on its feet, two new high-end hotels in Burbank and Santa Monica plan to overcome a challenging environment by offering chic accommodations at rates attractive to price-conscious business travelers and tourists. The $20-million Graciela Burbank, which opens Wednesday, and Viceroy Hotel, a $42-million project scheduled to debut this summer, will cater primarily to business travelers in the entertainment, advertising and related industries.

The downtown Los Angeles apartment building know as the Pegasus has been sold to Chicago real estate investment trust Equity Residential for $100 million. It was one of the largest residential property sales ever in the central business district and a sign that downtown's revitalization has caught the attention of national institutional investors, said real estate broker Marc Renard of Cushman & Wakefield. "Equity Residential's purchase is a tremendous endorsement of downtown L.A.," Renard said.

The historic Broadway department store building at one of the most famous intersections in Los Angeles is being converted to 96 luxury condominiums. Kor Group has started renovation of the 10-story building at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that opened in 1927 as a Dyas department store and later became a Broadway branch. It has been vacant for years.

The Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles, considered one of the region's finest examples of Art Deco architecture, is slated to be converted from offices to condominiums as downtown's housing construction boom rolls on. Hotel and apartment developer KOR Group said Tuesday that it purchased the 13-story building at 849 S. Broadway and an adjacent parking lot from Denly Investments for $20 million.

Developer KOR Group has contracted with Taisei Construction to convert an aging office building in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles into an apartment complex. The 13-story building at 612 S. Flower St. and Wilshire Boulevard has been empty for eight years. Los Angeles-based KOR Group plans to convert the office property built in 1949 to 322 apartments over street-level stores and parking. The project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2003.

Jump-start your vacation -- and lower your stress level -- the next time you fly out of Los Angeles International Airport, with a lodging, dining and parking deal at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel. The deal: The special, an exclusive to Los Angeles Times readers, is $169 and includes overnight lodging in a Gateway room, dinner for two at Shula's 347 steakhouse restaurant, free overnight parking and airport shuttle. Guests can park for an additional week at the reduced rate of $15 per night (the regular parking fee is $23 per night)

Ride high with a hotel special that combines an overnight stay with an unlimited one-day pass for the new solar-powered Ferris wheel and other rides at Santa Monica Pier. The deal: The special, an exclusive for Los Angeles Times readers, is $189 a night and includes an overnight stay at the Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica. It coincides with the debut of the $1.5-million Pacific Wheel, scheduled for May 22, at Pacific Park.