Science nonprofit buys small Playa Vista office in record ppsf deal

A 13,000-square-foot office building on Mesmer Avenue has sold for $12.3 million, or $946 per square foot, making it the most expensive deal ever closed in Playa Vista by price per square foot, multiple brokers say.

The buyer is the Kavli Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to scientific research and established by the late physicist and real estate investor Fred Kavli in 2000.

The seller, window supplier Larry Accord, built the property, at 5715 Mesmer Avenue, a decade ago, according to broker Mike Rago of Beitler Commercial.

Rago and his colleagues Tobin Koziol and Adam Targan represented the buyer. John Lally and Brandon Michaels of Marcus & Millichap represented Accord.

Kavli was close to signing a lease at 12100 Wilshire Boulevard, the 19-story office tower that traded for $225 million to Douglas Emmett in July, but ultimately decided it would prefer to own, according Rago. “We got very close to signing 10,000 square feet at 12100,” he said.

Kavli plans to invest an additional $3 million in renovations at the Mesmer building beginning in December. The space is currently anchored by a showroom on the first floor and Kavli wants to build out more office space, Rago said.

Just across the street, car dealership mogul Hooman Nissani is planning “one of the largest projects ever done in automotive history” after purchasing an 8.5-acre site for $83 million,he told TRD in July.

Some of Playa Vista’s newest office product isn’t an ideal fit for smaller tenants seeking 10,000 square feet or less, Rago said. “All these new [campuses] don’t divide down to smaller spaces,” he said.

The property on Mesmer was the only commercial building of its size range that came up for sale during Kavli’s nearly year-long search, he said.