Tesla Re-ups, Feds Dumping Courthouse, New TV Studio Coming

The richest man in the world may have moved Tesla’s headquarters out of California, but the electric carmaker’s presence in the Golden State lives on. Tesla renewed its Santa Monica lease for a two-story, 82,000 square-foot industrial building on Colorado Avenue.

Daum Commercial Real Estate Services Brokers Michael Collins and Dustin Hullinger represented the landlord, Thompson Properties.

“The industrial market in West and South Los Angeles continues to exhibit solid fundamentals,” Collins said in a statement. “With little new supply coming online, the demand imbalance enabled us to negotiate renewals with favorable terms for our clients.”

Billionaire and recent right-hand man to the president, Elon Musk, opened Tesla’s first dealership on Santa Monica Boulevard almost two decades ago; it still exists as a service center. Not to mention, a couple years ago, the trillion-dollar carmaker leased two of three industrial Westcore-purchased buildings in Livermore.

Federal government dumping landmark courthouse

The federal government is dumping a federal courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles. The U.S. General Services Administration has listed the landmark 17-story, about 752,000-square-foot Spring Street Courthouse for “accelerated disposition.” An asking price was not disclosed in the apparent fire sale.

The Spring Street Courthouse was listed as a “noncore” property for sale in early March, but the GSA took the posting down less than a day later.

The Art Moderne building was completed eight and a half decades ago and became a historic landmark in 2012. Current tenants include the National Labor Relations Board, the Small Business Administration, the GSA and some Los Angeles Superior Court operations. Earlier, it played host to court cases such as Gonzalo Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County, a precursor to the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

$51 million OC mystery buyer revealed

Mystery solved.

Last month, a mystery buyer paid $51 million for a roughly 100,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in Lake Forest. We now know that mystery buyer is an affiliate tied to commercial electricity provider Engie Resources.

The seller of the two-story industrial property, Rexford Industrial Realty, purchased it in 2016 for an undisclosed price. It collected $1.7 million in rent a year, or $16.93 per square foot before the deal. The current deal for the 1999 property works out to $498 per square foot. The sale is among the largest in Orange County deals this year.

Optimus Properties secures $21.5M refi loan for South LA shopping center

Optimus Properties secured a $21.5 million loan to refinance a South Los Angeles shopping center for $292 per square foot. The shopping center, Juanita Tate Marketplace, on Slauson Avenue is around 77,000 square feet.

It is anchored by a 42,500-square-foot Northgate Market, and is 100 percent leased by tenants like CVS, Chase and Starbucks. Optimus purchased the center a decade ago for an unknown amount.

JLL Capital Markets’ Alex Olson and Daniel Skerrett handled the five-year loan.

“Strong anchor tenants, diverse mix of national retailers, the strategic location and strong sponsorship contributed to its appeal in securing favorable financing terms,” Olson said in a statement, referring to Juanita Tate Marketplace.

Commercial property debris removal post-fires left to owners

Months ago wildfires burned through Los Angeles, destroying homes and businesses. But the federal government has no plans to help the latter clear the ashes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it won’t remove debris from commercial properties because the Federal Emergency Management Agency had not ordered it to.

“Commercial property debris removal is the responsibility of the property owner. Currently, USACE has no task from FEMA to execute commercial property removal,” the Army Corps said.

There have been proposals that could help small businesses. Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altedena, which fell victim to the Eaton Fire, introduced a motion to distribute small business loans and allow pop-up events in vacant lots to boost sales. The Los Angeles County Development Authority plans to hand out 80 loans through its Altadena Disaster Relief Small Business Loan Program, too.

“The Eaton fire devastated many in our Altadena community, and this program ensures we’re providing real support where it’s needed most,” Barger said in a statement. “Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and helping them get back on their feet is essential to restoring stability, jobs and community spirit in the wake of disaster.”

Billionaire Stan Kroenke to build TV studio at Hollywood Park

Billionaire Stan Kroenke plans to build a television studio at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. The Los Angeles Rams owner filed plans to build Hollywood Park Studio in the 300-acre Hollywood Park retail village on South Stadium Drive.

The 12-acre studio would be a hub for the International Broadcast Center for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, then an entertainment production and operations center. The estimated cost of the project was undisclosed.

The first phase calls for five soundstages. A three-story, 80,000-square-foot office building that would contain support, production and postproduction facilities comes next. A nearby lot would provide space for trucks, equipment and actors’ trailers. Eventually, the studio complex could expand to 20 soundstages and 200,000 square feet of related offices if demand exists.

“The vision for Hollywood Park has always been to build a city within a city combining media, entertainment and technology that will transform the greater Los Angeles area,” Kroenke said in a statement.