Alon Abady buys 250K sf vacant building from Blackstone-led venture

Alon Abady has bought a 250,000-square-foot, vacant office building in between Century City and Beverly Hills from Blackstone and a consortium of other investors, just days before the city of L.A.’s new transfer taxes go into effect, The Real Deal has learned. 

Abady bought the building at 9911 Pico Boulevard and plans to redevelop it, according to an announcement on Thursday. Kevin Shannon and Rob Hannan of Newmark brokered the deal on behalf of Blackstone, while Madison Partners’ Bob Safai represented Abady. 

The building traded for around $35 million, or about $140 a square foot, a source familiar with the acquisition said. 

Blackstone acquired a majority stake in the building when it assumed control of a portfolio of 31 office buildings in Southern California from a joint venture led by SL Green in 2012. Blackstone’s EQ Office took over management of the portfolio as part of the deal. 

Blackstone became the majority stakeholder by putting $85 million in equity into the portfolio, through a venture with Gramercy Capital and Square Mile Capital Management, SL Green said in a statement at the time. 

After refinancing, $747 million in debt was held on the portfolio, or about $24 million per building. 

Built in 1977, the building served as the headquarters for ABC Records, a record label operated by the American Broadcasting Company, for about a year, until it was sold to MCA Records in 1979, according to a 1978 issue of Cash Box magazine. 

Since then, the property has been leased to a number of different production studios, but has been listed for lease since 2019, according to LoopNet. 

Abady is best known for his $96 million purchase of Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills in 2021. In October, he sold a mansion at 661 Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills for $23 million.

Measure ULA, or L.A.’s mansion tax, levies a 4 percent tax on property sales above $5 million and 5.5 percent on deals above $10 million. The tax goes into effect April 1.