Maxxam Enterprises buys land underneath Encino building for $25M

Maxxam Enterprises recently acquired the 1.3-acre parcel underneath the Class A office building at 16311 Ventura Boulevard for $25 million, or about $450 per square land square foot, The Real Deal has learned.

The sellers of the land were Ayton Investment Company and a private family trust based in Texas, property records show. Madison Partners represented Maxxam in the transaction.
Maxxam, a Beverly Hills-based developer, acquired the land to expand its portfolio, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. It has no immediate plans to acquire the building itself, the source said.

Gilbert & Associates, a property management company headquartered down the road in Encino, owns the structure on the site, the firm told TRD.

The 12-story building, known as the Ventura Libbit Building, was constructed in 1980.

“[This stretch] of Ventura Boulevard is one of the most sought after spots in the San Fernando Valley office market,” said Colliers’ Jacob Mumper, who was not involved in the transaction. “This property in particular is one of the few buildings not owned by Douglas Emmett, which controls over 50 percent of the Class A products on Ventura Boulevard.”

Last September, Douglas Emmett sold one of those assets — the 14-story building at 14724 Ventura — to Sandstone Properties for $56.7 million, or $338 per square foot, TRD reported.

It’s common now for office deals on the street to exceed $300 a foot, Mumper said.

Real estate investor Max Netty is planning a pair of single-story commercial buildings nearby at 16206 and 16218 W. Ventura Boulevard.