Creative Media Converts Offices to Apartments in Mid-Wilshire

Creative Media & Community Trust has turned the top floors of an office building in Mid-Wilshire into luxury apartments.

The Dallas-based real estate investment trust, a publicly traded unit of CIM Group, converted the top two floors of the three-story building into 68 apartments at 4750 Wilshire Boulevard, with a residential entrance at 701 South Hudson Avenue, L.A. Business First reported.

The 30,000-square-foot ground floor will remain offices. The cost of the office-to-home conversion was not disclosed.

Los Angeles-based CIM Group, which manages real estate operations for CMCT and shares a Mid-Wilshire office, oversaw the planning and redevelopment of the 143,300-square-foot office building, built in 1985 for Farmers Insurance, which remains a tenant.

The apartment conversion, dubbed 701 Hudson, includes studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with high ceilings, modern fixtures, wood floors and in-unit washers and dryers.

Creative Media & Community Trust added a lap pool, landscaped courtyard with outdoor picnic areas, community lounge with movie room and game tables, children’s playroom, fitness center and yoga rooms, plus a coworking area with communal work tables and enclosed offices.

As a sweetener for new tenants, the landlord offers up to two months free rent, according to its website. Rents range from $2,799 for a studio to $8,884 for a two-bedroom apartment, according to Homes.com.

The office-to- home conversion, a mile-and-a-half east of the La Brea Tar Pits and a mile from the incoming Wilshire/La Brea Metro subway station, is part of the REIT’s investment in luxury apartments and offices in “high-barrier to entry markets,” according to L.A. Business First.

Kanden Realty & Development, Taisei and an unnamed institutional investor also have stakes in the project. The exact share of their investment was not disclosed. Kanden and Taisei are both based in Japan.

In May last year, the publicly traded REIT bought four properties in Oakland from its parent company, CIM Group, for $282 million.

At the same time, Creative Media’s board rejected an offer from XYZ.com’s Daniel Negari to buy the REIT for $201 million, saying it “substantially undervalues” the business.

Creative Media & Community Trust, founded in 1994, owns 27 properties, including 13 office buildings, three apartment complexes and a 503-room hotel in Northern California, according to a regulatory filing. It had a net loss of $9.7 million in the second quarter ending in June, compared to a loss of $23.8 million a year earlier.

— Dana Bartholomew