Marcus Millichap

Sale of a 153-unit apartment complex at 12401 Studebaker, Norwalk, to Shashikant Jogani has been announced by Marcus & Millichap, which handled the $7.2-million transaction.

A vacant lot near the Glendale Galleria shopping center in downtown Glendale has sold to an apartment developer for nearly $16 million. The 1.38-acre site at 111 N. Brand Blvd. is approved for residential and retail development. Buyer Holland Partners of Vancouver, Wash., plans to build 235 apartments on top of shops and restaurants. The property's urban location close to the Galleria and the Americana at Brand shopping centers helped attract an array of institutional and private bidders, real estate broker Paul Darrow of Marcus & Millichap's Institutional Property Advisors said.

Real estate may be in the doldrums, but Rodeo Drive is still Rodeo Drive when it comes to property prices. The Hugo Boss building on Beverly Hills' famous shopping street has been purchased by Hong Kong-based investors for $28 million in one of the highest per-square-foot prices paid for commercial real estate since the recession began, the seller's broker said Wednesday. Rodeo Drive has such cachet that many high-profile retailers want to be there even if their rents are too high in some cases for them to turn a profit at that location, said broker Dave Feldman of Marcus & Millichap.

Colorado apartment landlord Archstone broadened its Southern California empire this month by spending more than $100 million on seaside properties in Venice and Marina del Rey. Archstone, which operates upscale apartments in coastal markets, bought the Frank, a 70-unit complex on Rose Avenue in Venice, for $56.2 million. It also purchased the Bay Club, which has 205 units -- and 207 boat slips -- on Tahiti Way, for $43.95 million. The Frank, which was renamed Archstone Venice on Rose, is a new complex completed this year by the seller, Portland, Ore., developer Gerding Edlen Development Inc. Los Angeles landlord Decron Properties Corp.

Canterbury Court, a 119,745-square-foot apartment complex at 334 C St. in Chula Vista, has been sold for $8.5 million. JAG Industries, the seller, and Walter M. Perekrest, the buyer, were both represented by Marcus & Millichap.

The El Royale apartment tower in Hancock Park, a magnet for celebrity tenants since the Jazz Age, has sold for nearly $30 million in what may be the largest price-per-unit sale in Los Angeles history. The 12-story building at 450 N. Rossmore Ave. was built in 1929 for the Hollywood crowd and early residents included Clark Gable, William Faulkner and Loretta Young. It was designed in a mix of Spanish and French Renaissance styles by the same architect who created the famous Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood.

Office landlords can expect to see gradual improvement in tenant demand for space this year, but employers will continue to be cautious about expanding, a real estate brokerage said. The office sector of real estate will be bolstered by the improving economy, which should drive more purchases of buildings by investors, Marcus & Millichap reported. Based on its research, the brokerage expects office-using employers to create about 720,000 jobs in the U.S in 2012, a 30% increase over last year.

A vacant lot near the Glendale Galleria shopping center in downtown Glendale has sold to an apartment developer for nearly $16 million. The 1.38-acre site at 111 N. Brand Blvd. is approved for residential and retail development. Buyer Holland Partners of Vancouver, Wash., plans to build 235 apartments on top of shops and restaurants. The property's urban location close to the Galleria and the Americana at Brand shopping centers helped attract an array of institutional and private bidders, real estate broker Paul Darrow of Marcus & Millichap's Institutional Property Advisors said.

One of the country's largest commercial real estate brokerages, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, has named a new president and chief executive. John J. Kerin, 54, will replace Harvey Green at the helm of the company July 1. Green announced his pending retirement in April after leading the company for a decade. Marcus & Millichap is headquartered in Palo Alto, but Green directs operations from his base in the Encino office and so will Kerin. Kerin joined the company in 1981 as an agent and rose through the ranks.

Colorado apartment landlord Archstone broadened its Southern California empire this month by spending more than $100 million on seaside properties in Venice and Marina del Rey. Archstone, which operates upscale apartments in coastal markets, bought the Frank, a 70-unit complex on Rose Avenue in Venice, for $56.2 million. It also purchased the Bay Club, which has 205 units -- and 207 boat slips -- on Tahiti Way, for $43.95 million. The Frank, which was renamed Archstone Venice on Rose, is a new complex completed this year by the seller, Portland, Ore., developer Gerding Edlen Development Inc. Los Angeles landlord Decron Properties Corp.

The El Royale apartment tower in Hancock Park, a magnet for celebrity tenants since the Jazz Age, has sold for nearly $30 million in what may be the largest price-per-unit sale in Los Angeles history. The 12-story building at 450 N. Rossmore Ave. was built in 1929 for the Hollywood crowd and early residents included Clark Gable, William Faulkner and Loretta Young. It was designed in a mix of Spanish and French Renaissance styles by the same architect who created the famous Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood.

Office landlords can expect to see gradual improvement in tenant demand for space this year, but employers will continue to be cautious about expanding, a real estate brokerage said. The office sector of real estate will be bolstered by the improving economy, which should drive more purchases of buildings by investors, Marcus & Millichap reported. Based on its research, the brokerage expects office-using employers to create about 720,000 jobs in the U.S in 2012, a 30% increase over last year.

One of the country's largest commercial real estate brokerages, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, has named a new president and chief executive. John J. Kerin, 54, will replace Harvey Green at the helm of the company July 1. Green announced his pending retirement in April after leading the company for a decade. Marcus & Millichap is headquartered in Palo Alto, but Green directs operations from his base in the Encino office and so will Kerin. Kerin joined the company in 1981 as an agent and rose through the ranks.

Market conditions are improving slightly for retail landlords, a new report says -- or, more accurately, conditions are worsening at a slower pace. Vacancies at neighborhood shopping centers, which are usually anchored by a grocery store, grew in the fourth quarter of 2009 at the slowest pace since the end of 2007, according to an analysis released Wednesday by CBRE Econometric Advisors. About 12.4% of the space in such centers was empty at the end of last year. The report predicted that the vacancy rate will peak at 12.8% in the third quarter of this year.

It's a cold winter for apartment investors in Los Angeles County: Rents are down, prices have fallen and vacancies are way up. Deal velocity -- broker slang for sales volume -- is a thin stream compared with the overflowing activity of 2005 and '06, the most recent boom years. But to smaller investors like Johnny Caal, with cash in hand and a taste for risk, the weather is delightful. This is the best market I've seen since 1994," during the previous recession, said the Van Nuys-based investor, who owns six small rental complexes in L.A. County.

Real estate may be in the doldrums, but Rodeo Drive is still Rodeo Drive when it comes to property prices. The Hugo Boss building on Beverly Hills' famous shopping street has been purchased by Hong Kong-based investors for $28 million in one of the highest per-square-foot prices paid for commercial real estate since the recession began, the seller's broker said Wednesday. Rodeo Drive has such cachet that many high-profile retailers want to be there even if their rents are too high in some cases for them to turn a profit at that location, said broker Dave Feldman of Marcus & Millichap.

Lyon Capital Ventures of Newport Beach acquired the 266-unit Pacific Holiday Towers at 1900 Ocean Ave. in Long Beach from PHT Limited Partnership and Pacific Holiday Tower Ltd. for $33.6 million. The buyer was represented in-house by J. Burns and by Robin Ossenbeck of Hendricks & Partners. The sellers represented themselves. * LaSalle Investment Management Inc.

Lyon Capital Ventures of Newport Beach acquired the 266-unit Pacific Holiday Towers at 1900 Ocean Ave. in Long Beach from PHT Limited Partnership and Pacific Holiday Tower Ltd. for $33.6 million. The buyer was represented in-house by J. Burns and by Robin Ossenbeck of Hendricks & Partners. The sellers represented themselves. * LaSalle Investment Management Inc.