Brookfield Offloads Distressed Office Tower

It was a who’s who of wealth managers, lawyers and commercial real estate executives at the Real Estate Family Office & Private Wealth West conference this week.

Panelists talked about tariffs, trade and interest rates in back-to-back discussions at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. There were hints of multifamily optimism, an emphasis that cash was stuck on the sidelines except for family office money and a juicy discussion on succession planning within family offices.

On the sidelines, there was chatter about the Trump-Musk breakup that played out via social media mid-conference though the blowup didn’t make it to the center stage.

Brookfield’s loss, Uncommon’s gain

In other news, Brookfield Properties dumped a Downtown Los Angeles office tower for less than the debt tied to the property, and Uncommon Developers scooped it up in an off-market sale that happened to be the biggest in the county since January last year.

The 52-story trophy tower at 601 South Figueroa Street changed hands for $210 million, or $201 a square foot, but $250 million in debt was tied to the office after Brookfield landed an extension for loans set to mature. A source familiar with the deal told The Real Deal that the debt was unimpaired, an uncommon occurrence Downtown nowadays.

“This is a landmark sale for Downtown L.A.,” Colliers’ Mark Schuessler, who represents Uncommon Developers, said. Newmark’s Kevin Shannon, who represented Brookfield, appeared to echo Schuessler.

“Crossing the $200 psf hurdle is a clear sign of improvement,” Shannon said in a statement to TRD. “The market has clearly passed bottom.”

The distressed office sale isn’t a first for Brookfield. The landlord has been shrinking its Los Angeles office portfolio after a series of defaults in the wake of the pandemic.

Silicon Beach office campus trades for $151M

In a deal that commanded one of the highest prices paid for a property in L.A. so far this year, Clarion Partners sold an office campus to Barings for $151 million. Clarion purchased the 307,000-square-foot mixed-use complex in Playa Vista about a decade ago for $133 million.

The office campus in Silicon Beach maintains an average occupancy level of more than 90 percent, according to Newmark, which facilitated the sale.

The property called i|o faces “significant near-term expirations,” Newmark’s Laura Stumm said in a statement, but “the willingness of institutional investors to take on leasing uncertainty is a clear vote of confidence in both the Playa Vista submarket and the broader office recovery.”

Clarion may be on a selling spree. Last May, it sold the 214-unit Reveal Playa Vista apartment complex for $122 million, and earlier, in October, Clarion sold a Santa Monica office for $185 million.

Evoke Advisors lands in Century City

Evoke Advisors inked a 24,470-square-foot deal to relocate its headquarters to 2121 Avenue of the Stars in Century City. Evoke signed a 10-year lease for a full floor at Irvine Company’s 34-story tower.

It appears as though Evoke will move from Westwood, as the company’s website lists its main office at 10635 Santa Monica Blvd.“This 10-year lease underscores the strong demand for high-quality office space in premier locations and reflects how top firms are prioritizing vibrant, talent-rich environments to support long-term growth,” said CBRE’s Blake Mirkin, who represented the tenant.

Artists First recently signed a lease for 22,785 square feet at the Century City trophy tower, and Armanino leased 23,500 square feet, spanning a full floor, last year.

Bid forms against LA’s minimum wage increase

Travel and hospitality entities are uniting against L.A.’s minimum wage hike ahead of the 2028 Olympics in hopes of overturning it. The group consists of some big players such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, who are all concerned about the impact on small, independent hotels.

“Small businesses will be forced to shut down, workers will lose their jobs, and the economic fallout will stretch across the city,” Phil Singer, a spokesperson for the alliance, said.

The bloc has until June 30 to gather about 93,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot in June 2026. The wage increase is set to go into effect July 1, with wages for hotel and airport workers starting at $22.50 and increasing to $25 next July, $27.50 in July 2027 and $30 in July 2028.

Irvine Company seeks more apartments at Discovery Park

Irvine Company intends to add an extra roughly 2,000 apartments to its mixed-use Discovery Park development after a unanimous planning commission approval.

Plans call for four, five-story wrap-style buildings at its Discovery Park community on a vacant lot.

The project would include studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms — and some affordable units. There would be more than 5,000 square feet for retail too.

Santa Monica office-to-apartments conversion

An office building that was once home to the Santa Monica Daily Press could become apartments.

Lincoln Property Company has proposed an eight-story, 132-unit apartment development to replace the property at 1640 5th Street.

The Santa Monica Architectural Review Board will soon vote on Lincoln’s plans, which include some affordable units. The project needs approval via California’s state density bonus program to receive incentives. Still, the approval process for the building was expedited thanks to Senate Bill 330. Lincoln Property submitted a preliminary application in May 2024 and later received approval in September.