2020 Prop 13 repeal ballot to be rewritten, WeWork and others lease with Irving Co. in Orange County: Daily digest

A daily round up of LA real estate news, deals and more for August 13, 2019

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up Los Angeles’ biggest real estate news. We update this page at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

This page was last updated at 4 p.m. PT

Backers of 2020 Prop 13 revision ballot to rewrite repeal measure. After failing to pass a ballot measure in 2018 that would have tweaked California’s 1970s-era Proposition 13 property tax laws, organizers began a campaign to put it the question on the upcoming ballot. Prop 13 locks in property taxes for California property owners, which critics say hurt tax revenue. The new version will also emphasize that small business owners can keep their property taxes as is, which could shift some voters toward supporting the measure. [LAT via Twitter]

 

Tom Greubel, Vice President of leasing, with Spectrum Terrace and Discovery Park

Tom Greubel, Vice President of leasing, with Spectrum Terrace and Discovery Park

Irvine Co. signs four tenants to 200,000 square feet in Orange County. The firm signed new leases with WeWork, Kajabi, and Hyperice to new leases at its recently-opened Spectrum Terrace complex. Together the leases total just under 174,000 square feet. It signed Pacific Rim capital to a 20,200-square-foot lease at the nearby Discovery Park property. [TRD]

 

Federal Realty CEO Donald Wood and the Bijou Building

Federal Realty CEO Donald Wood and the Bijou Building

Federal Realty has scored $18 million for historic Bijou Building. The retail REIT sold the 23,170-square-foot building in Hermosa Beach to an LLC named 1221 Hermosa Ave. Its former owner CIM Group had repurposed the shuttered theater into a retail building — now primarily leased to Chase Bank — in the early 2000. [TRD]

 

The FBI swarmed Jeffrey Epstein’s private island. The agency, along with local police from the Virgin Islands and New York Police Department, drove around Little St. James Island in golf carts and gathered evidence following Epstein’s apparent suicide in Manhattan jail on Saturday. Epstein allegedly trafficked girls through his island home. [Miami Herald]

 

Scott Gillen wants $100 million for one of his “Case” homes. The Malibu developer has priced one of the under-construction homes in his gated community project, “The Case,” at $100 million, reflecting one of the most expensive listings in the county. He’s looking for a buyer who wants to customize the 12,500-square-foot pad, which is expected to be completed by 2020. The home is part of Gillen’s “Malibu Series,” a collection of 13 properties that’s valued at $500 million. [WSJ]

 

Cue the Beliebers: Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin’s Toluca Lake rental is up for grabs. The couple famously rented the 6,500-square-foot pad for $100,000 per month last year after they tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York. Now, it’s on the market for $8.5 million. Andrew Mortaza and Bryan Castaneda of the Agency have the listing. [Redfin]

 

Brick & Mortar Ventures’ Darren Bechtel (Credit: LinkedIn and iStock)

There’s a new $100 million fund specifically devoted to construction tech. As investment in construction technology is booming, San Francisco-based Brick & Mortar Ventures launched a new fund to target Series A funding rounds. [TRD]

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Culver City has capped its rents. Elected officials in the Westside city voted 4-1 to cap annual rent hikes at 3 percent in buildings built before 1995. The measure expires in one year. They also adopted just-cause eviction protections, which means landlords need to prove a tenant violated certain terms in order to evict them, such as failure to pay rent. [LAT]

 

Mike Trout (credit: Keith Allison)

Mike Trout (credit: Keith Allison)

Angels slugger Mike Trout snags Newport Beach manse. Trout paid $9.2 million for the 9,000-square-foot home in the Harbor Ridge gated community. The 28-year-old New Jersey-born outfielder has good reason to settle down and celebrate. Earlier this year, Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million deal that could see him play the rest of his career for the franchise. [Variety]

 

Majordomo rebels against investor Stephen Ross. David Chang’s Chinatown restaurant donated all of its profits on Friday to a number of charities, including progressive organizations, in response to Ross’ highly publicized fundraiser for President Donald Trump at his Hamptons estate. Ross’ investment firm RSE Ventures backs the restaurant, and last week, Chang publicly called on Ross to cancel the fundraiser. [LAT]

 

Drawbridge Realty buys Santa Ana office complex for $98 million. The San Francisco firm bought the nearly 400,000-square-foot Pacific Center property from Pacific Coast Capital Partners and Brookhollow, which are based in L.A. and Costa Mesa, respectively. Drawbridge owns a neighboring property leased by Johnson & Johnson. [CO]

 

A $200 million artificial wave park is planned in Palm Desert. Desert Wave Ventures LLC wants to build a 5.5-acre surf pool, a hotel with up to 350 rooms, dozens of single-family homes, and retail. The firm aims to break ground sometime next. The wave pool will be pricey: its set to start at $135 per hour. [WSJ]

 

From left: GPI Companies co-founders Cliff Goldstein and Drew Planting, and GPI Cos. partner Lee Wagman

From left: GPI Companies co-founders Cliff Goldstein and Drew Planting, and GPI Cos. partner Lee Wagman

GPI Companies secures $300 million from California pension fund. The L.A. firm intends to use the money for multifamily, office and industrial properties, along with retail conversions. [TRD]

 

Luxury student housing is pushing low-income students away from campus. An analysis by Bloomberg of census data near UT Austin and the University of Michigan found a correlation between luxury student housing development and rising rents. Students from lower-income families are increasingly finding housing as far as an hour away from campus, resulting in a disconnect from campus life. [Bloomberg]

 

FROM THE CITY’S RECORDS:

An application was filed to make a 1939 home in Silver Lake a Historic-Cultural Monument. The home was designed by architect Harwell Hamilton Harris and sold in July 2018 for $1.5 million. [LADCP]