Construction projects: ranked by project cost

Construction projects: ranked by project cost.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Construction+projects%3a+ranked+by+project+cost.-a0169023096

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE Business Journal expanded its list of construction projects to 50 this year. All projects listed have a construction value of at least $100 million excluding soft costs, such as architect fees.

Hospital projects remain some of the biggest projects on the list and many large facilities are to be completed in the next 12 months.

Ronald Reagan Hospital at UCLA should complete construction within the next 60 days, LAC+USC Medical Center will finish its 600-bed inpatient tower by the end of the year and Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center may also finish construction in 2008. Hospitals have been required to renovate or build new buildings to meet seismic requirements that were passed following the Northridge Earthquake.

A number of large projects on last year's list completed construction including some major retail and office properties. Westfield Topanga completed its redevelopment and expansion, adding 250 shops, restaurants and other amenities at a cost of $330 million. The 2000 Avenue of the Stars office building in Century City finished construction at a cost of $300 million and tenants have been moving in since January. Del Amo Fashion Center opened its lifestyle wing late last year at a cost of $180 million.

Other completed projects include David Murdock's Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, which cost $250 million to build and includes a hotel, conference center and television studio. NoHo Commons in North Hollywood finished the first phase of construction valued at $180 million

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

The PACESETTER

THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

THE Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority's six-mile $869 million project connecting Union Station and East Los Angeles is more than halfway complete.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Construction began in July 2004 and is set for completion by December 2009, although the project is already moving into its later stages. Tracks are being laid along the alignment from Alameda and First streets to Atlantic and Pomona. As soon as the track is laid, the project can start testing the rail cars. Eight stops planned along the route.

The project is on schedule and one of the safest construction sites in the area, with no accidents so far.

All along the route, developers have been moving forward with residential and retail projects. City planners had hoped that would happen when they implemented the public transit plan.

Overall, the Metro Rail system will expand to serve 70 stations throughout the county when the project is completed.
Project Construction
* name Cost
Rank * location (millions) Description

1 Eastside Extension of $868.8 six-mile light rail
the Metro Gold Line extension of Metro
Union Station to East GoldLine with eight
Los Angeles Los Angeles stations from Union
County Station to East Los
Angeles

2 Expo Light Rail Line 640 8.6-mile light rail
Phase I with eight new stations
Downtown Los Angeles to
Culver City Los Angeles
County

3 JW Marriott/The Ritz 600 54-story, 1,001-room,
Carlton/The Ritz 224 luxury condominium
Carlton Residences tower at L.A. Live
L.A. Live
Los Angeles 90015

4 Kaiser Permanente Los 600 400-bed state-of-the-
Angeles Medical Center art replacement
4867 Sunset Blvd. hospital, new medical
Los Angeles 90027 office building,
central plant

5 LAC+USC Medical Center 597.4 600-bed inpatient
Replacement tower, diagnostic and
1849 Marengo St. treatment facility,
Los Angeles 90033 outpatient tower,
central plant and site
work

6 LAX Tom Bradley 575.6 modernization and
International Terminal addition including
1 World Way replacement of the
Los Angeles 90045 baggage handling
system, all signage,
elevators

7 Ronald Reagan UCLA 465 520-bed replacement
Hospital hospital
750 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles 90095

8 Childrens Hospital 414 hospital building
Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles 90027

9 Kaiser Downey Medical 349.9 six story patient tower
Center Replacement with a three story
Hospital diagnostic treatment
93018 Imperial Highway center
Downey 90242

10 LAX South Airfield 333 LAX south runway
One World Way relocation and taxiway
Los Angeles 90041 improvements

11 Concerto 300 619 luxury condomi-
Ninth and Figueroa niums units with
Los Angeles 90015 25,000 square-feet of
retail, 1 acre urban
park, spa and
restaurant

12 The Century 300 42-story condominium
Avenue of the Stars tower, 147 units,
Century City 90067 restaurant, parking,
pools, spa, library,
screening room,
business center

13 Santa Monica UCLA 300 271-bed replacement
Medical Center & hospital, new central
Orthopaedic Hospital plant and four wings,
1344 16th St. renovation to existing
Santa Monica 90404 wing, parking struc-
ture, demolition of
nine-story hospital

14 The Americana at Brand 291.2 mixed-use, retail/
Brand Blvd., Central residential develop-
Ave. and Colorado St. ment, 430,000 square-
Glendale 91202 feet retail, 100
condominium homes, 238
apartments

15 Horizon at Playa Vista 280 urban office campus
Bluff Creek Drive and development
Campus Center
Playa Vista 90094

16 Terranea Resort 275 102 oceanfront acres
6610 Palos Verdes Drive with 582-room hotel,
South Rancho Palos villas, casitas, and
Verdes 90275 bungalows, restaurants
and bars, golf course

17 JMB Condo Towers 250.0 (1) twin 47-story towers
Century City with 483 condominium
Constellation Blvd. units
Century City

18 Montage Hotel Beverly 240 hotel, condos, spa,
Hills public gardens, parking
Wilshire Blvd. garage and commercial
Beverly Hills 90210 building

19 Police Headquarters 231.4 16-story police headq-
Facility uarters building, 450-
1st St. and Spring St. seat auditorium, cafe,
Los Angeles 90012 parking garage

20 Luma Evo 226 residential, commercial
11th and Grand Ave. and parking development
Los Angles 90015

21 Symantec Corp. Office 215 two four-story
Campus buildings and a six-
800-900 Corporate level subterranean
Pointe Culver City structured parking
90230 garage

22 W Hollywood Hotel and 210 11-story hotel and
Residences 14-story condominium
Hollywood and Vine tower, 300 guest rooms
Hollywood 90028 and 144 condo units

23 California Veterans 183.6 veteran's home
Home
800 S. Bingham Ave.
Los Angeles 90049

24 New White Memorial 183 167-bed patient care
Medical Center tower
1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez
Ave. Los Angeles 90033

25 Palazzo Westwood 175 luxury apartments,
Village retail
1073 Glendon Ave.
Westwood 90024

26 Vue 174 16-story, 318 unit
255 Fifth St. waterfront building
San Pedro with rooftop sky deck,
lounge, and fitness
center

27 Central High School 171.9 performing arts high
No. 9 school
450 N. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles 90012

28 LNR Warner Center 167.4 35-acre campus with
21255 Burbank Blvd. seven mid-rise office
Woodland Hills 91367 buildings and three
five-level parking
structures

29 The Pointe 167 14-story, class A
2900 W. Alameda Ave. office building
Burbank 91505

30 I-405 High Occupancy 167 3.6-mile high occupancy
Vehicle Lane vehicle lane construc-
Route 90 to I-10 tion on I-405 from
Los Angeles County Route 90 to I-10

31 Central Los Angeles 163.5 seven small learning
High School No. 11 communities
1200 W. Colton St.
Los Angeles 90012

32 Red Building 160 class A office project
8687 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood 90069

33 Kaiser Panorama City 153.4 218-bed hospital,
Medical Center Hospital central utility plan
Replacement & Central
Plant
13652 Cantara St.
Panorama City 91402

34 Hollywood & Vine 150 375 apartment units,
Apartments retail space, restau-
Hollywood Blvd. and rant, bar, spa, fit-
Vine St. Hollywood ness center, parking
90028

35 St. John's Health 149.8 diagnostic and treat-
Center Keck Diagnostic ment center, four-story
and Treatment Center atrium, operating rooms
Step 2A & 2B for heart and orthope-
1301 22nd St. dics, cath labs,
Santa Monica 90404 imaging department and
site work

36 Palmdale Regional 138 171-bed hospital,
Medical Center emergency room facili-
N/A ties, ICU unit,
Palmdale operating rooms,
nursery

37 Eastside High School 136.4 comprehensive 9-12
3200 E. J-8 grade high school
Lancaster 93535

38 LACMA Phase I 132 65,000 square-feet
5905 Wilshire Blvd. gallery space,
Los Angeles 90036 entrance, underground
parking and
infrastructure

39 Huntington Memorial 127.7 seven story tower addi-
Hospital West Tower tion with utility
100 W. California tunnel for tie-in to
Pasadena 91109 Central Plant and
associated site work

40 Life Sciences 122.9 wet and dry research
Replacement Building labs and related space
N/A
Westwood

41 Pasadena Convention 122 renovation and expan-
Center sion of the facilities
128 S. Morengo Ave. located at Pasadena
Pasadena 91101 Civic Auditorium

42 NoHo Commons, Phases 117.3 six story office
II and III building, multiplex
5300 Lankershim Blvd. cinema, neighborhood
North Hollywood 91601 retail center with
underground and above
ground parking

43 East Valley Middle 116.8 1,809 seat middle
School No. 1 school
6501 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
North Hollywood 91601

44 Solair Wilshire 108 186-unit condominium
3785 Wilshire Blvd. high-rise, restaurant/
Los Angeles 90010 retail space, parking

45 LA Live Buildings 105 two core and shell
A & B entertainment buildings
N/A of multi-use space
Los Angeles 90015

46 Miller Children's 104 four-story patient
Hospital tower, central utility
2801 Atlantic Ave. plant and site work
Long Beach 90801 improvements

47 717 Ninth Street 100 214 loft-style units,
717 W. Ninth St. approximately 6,800
Los Angeles 90021 square-feet of ground
floor retail space

48 Plaza Tower 100 in-patient surgery
Presbyterian Inter- department, imaging
community Hospital department, critical
Whittier 90602 care and additional
medical/surgical beds

49 California Science 100 science museum exhi-
Center Phase II bits, administrative
700 State Drive office space and
Los Angeles 90037 back-of-house support
spaces

50 Sony--Culver Office 100 two office buildings
Project and a 1,011-car parking
Sony Picture structure
Entertainment Lot
Culver City 90232

Profile
* start date
* completion
Project date Planners
* name * square * owner
Rank * location footage * architect

1 Eastside Extension of July 2004 L.A. County
the Metro Gold Line December 2009 Metropolitan
Union Station to East N/A Transportation
Los Angeles Los Angeles Authority
County N/A

2 Expo Light Rail Line October 2006 Los Angeles County
Phase I 2010 Metropolitan
Downtown Los Angeles to N/A Transit Authority
Culver City Los Angeles N/A
County

3 JW Marriott/The Ritz June 2007 AEG
Carlton/The Ritz Winter 2010 Gensler
Carlton Residences 2,000,000
L.A. Live
Los Angeles 90015

4 Kaiser Permanente Los March 2001 Kaiser Foundation
Angeles Medical Center 2008 Hospitals Inc.
4867 Sunset Blvd. 792,000 SmithGroup/Chong
Los Angeles 90027 Partners
Architecture

5 LAC+USC Medical Center April 2003 Los Angeles County
Replacement December 2007 Hellmuth, Obata +
1849 Marengo St. 1,501,000 Kassabaum Inc./
Los Angeles 90033 Lee Burkhart Liu Inc.

6 LAX Tom Bradley February 2007 Los Angeles World
International Terminal January 2010 Airports
1 World Way 511,000 Leo A. Daly
Los Angeles 90045

7 Ronald Reagan UCLA Winter 2000 UCLA
Hospital Fall 2007 Perkins + Will
750 Westwood Blvd. 1,100,000
Los Angeles 90095

8 Childrens Hospital January 2005 Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles February 2010 Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Blvd. 460,000 Zimmer-Gunsul-Frasca
Los Angeles 90027 Partnership

9 Kaiser Downey Medical May 2006 Kaiser Permanente
Center Replacement March 2009 HMC Architects
Hospital 657,783
93018 Imperial Highway
Downey 90242

10 LAX South Airfield July 2006 Los Angeles World
One World Way June 2008 Airports
Los Angeles 90041 N/A HNTB Architects

11 Concerto May 2006 Astani Enterprises
Ninth and Figueroa May 2009 Inc.
Los Angeles 90015 835,000 De Stefano and
Partners Ltd.

12 The Century 2005 The Related Cos.
Avenue of the Stars 2008 Robert AM Stern/HKS
Century City 90067 712,658 Inc.

13 Santa Monica UCLA March 2000 UCLA
Medical Center & Fall 2009 CO Architects
Orthopaedic Hospital 523,000
1344 16th St.
Santa Monica 90404

14 The Americana at Brand June 2006 Caruso Affiliated
Brand Blvd., Central April 2008 Harley Ellis
Ave. and Colorado St. 850,000 Devereaux
Glendale 91202

15 Horizon at Playa Vista May 2007 Lincoln ASB Playa
Bluff Creek Drive and December 2008 Vista Phase I LLC
Campus Center 950,000 Johnson Fain/HKS Inc.
Playa Vista 90094

16 Terranea Resort May 2007 Lowe Destination
6610 Palos Verdes Drive May 2009 Development
South Rancho Palos 680,000 HKS Hill Glazier
Verdes 90275 Studio/Scheurer
Architects Inc.

17 JMB Condo Towers 2006 JMB Corp.
Century City 2009 N/A
Constellation Blvd. N/A
Century City

18 Montage Hotel Beverly February 2006 BHLH LLC
Hills October 2008 Hill Glazier
Wilshire Blvd. 1,013,000
Beverly Hills 90210

19 Police Headquarters Fall 2006 City of Los Angeles
Facility 2009 DMJM-Roth/Sheppard
1st St. and Spring St. 500,000 Design
Los Angeles 90012

20 Luma Evo June 2005 South Group
11th and Grand Ave. June 2008 Ankrom Moisan
Los Angles 90015 1,098,500 Architects, GBD
Architects,
TVA Architects

21 Symantec Corp. Office Fall 2005 Symantec Corp. (2)
Campus October 2007 Hellmuth Obata +
800-900 Corporate 550,000 Inc. Kassabaum
Pointe Culver City
90230

22 W Hollywood Hotel and June 2007 HEI Hospitality/
Residences August 2009 Gatehouse Capital
Hollywood and Vine 1,981,000 Corp., Legacy
Hollywood 90028 Partners
HKS Architects

23 California Veterans July 2007 California Deparment
Home December 2009 of Veterans Affairs
800 S. Bingham Ave. 385,000 Smith Group
Los Angeles 90049

24 New White Memorial August 2001 Adventist Health
Medical Center April 2009 Taylor Associates,
1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez 779,253 Kaplan McLaughlin
Ave. Los Angeles 90033 Diaz Stephen
Wen Associates

25 Palazzo Westwood 2006 Casden Glendon LLC
Village 2008 Van Tilburg Banvard &
1073 Glendon Ave. 528,000 Soderbergh
Westwood 90024

26 Vue 2006 Galaxy Commercial
255 Fifth St. 2008 Holding LLC
San Pedro 700,170 GMP Architects

27 Central High School March 2006 LAUSD
No. 9 September 2008 Coop Himmelb(l)au/HMC
450 N. Grand Avenue 238,000 Architects
Los Angeles 90012

28 LNR Warner Center January 2000 LNR Property Corp.
21255 Burbank Blvd. December 2007 Poliquin Kellogg
Woodland Hills 91367 1,400,000 Design Group

29 The Pointe March 2007 M. David Paul
2900 W. Alameda Ave. February 2009 Ventures LLC
Burbank 91505 485,000 HLW

30 I-405 High Occupancy October 2004 California Department
Vehicle Lane Winter 2009 of Transportation
Route 90 to I-10 N/A N/A
Los Angeles County

31 Central Los Angeles Fall 2005 LAUSD
High School No. 11 Spring 2008 WWCOT
1200 W. Colton St. 320,046
Los Angeles 90012

32 Red Building March 2007 Charles Cohen
8687 Melrose Ave. December 2009 Cesar Pelli
West Hollywood 90069 400,000

33 Kaiser Panorama City December 2003 Kaiser Permanente
Medical Center Hospital September 2007 CO Architects
Replacement & Central 421,187
Plant
13652 Cantara St.
Panorama City 91402

34 Hollywood & Vine 2006 Legacy Partners
Apartments 2009 Residential
Hollywood Blvd. and 425,000 McLarend Vasquez/HKS
Vine St. Hollywood
90028

35 St. John's Health September 2004 St. John's Health
Center Keck Diagnostic September 2009 Center
and Treatment Center 268,252 Inc. Hellmuth Obata +
Step 2A & 2B Kassabaum
1301 22nd St.
Santa Monica 90404

36 Palmdale Regional September 2006 Universal Health
Medical Center August 2008 Services
N/A 371,000 HKS Architects
Palmdale

37 Eastside High School February 2005 Antelope Valley Joint
3200 E. J-8 December 2008 Union High
Lancaster 93535 296,478 School District
NTDStichler
Architecture

38 LACMA Phase I June 2005 LACMA
5905 Wilshire Blvd. February 2008 Renzo Piano Building
Los Angeles 90036 350,000 Workshop

39 Hospital West Tower June 2005 Huntington Hospital
100 W. California November 2007 HDR Inc.
Pasadena 91109 245,226

40 Life Sciences June 2007 UCLA
Replacement Building March 2010 Bohlin Cywinski
N/A 175,911 Jackson
Westwood

41 Pasadena Convention August 2006 City of Pasadena
Center April 2009 Fentress Architects
128 S. Morengo Ave. 219,000
Pasadena 91101

42 NoHo Commons, Phases June 2005 J. H. Snyder Co.
II and III September 2009 The Jerde Partnership
5300 Lankershim Blvd. 550,000
North Hollywood 91601

43 East Valley Middle Summer 2004 LAUSD
School No. 1 Fall 2007 Johnson/Fain
6501 Laurel Canyon Blvd. 162,000
North Hollywood 91601

44 Solair Wilshire September 2006 KOAR Institutional
3785 Wilshire Blvd. December 2008 Advisors LLC
Los Angeles 90010 780,000 Archeon Group

45 LA Live Buildings January 2007 Anschutz Entertain-
A & B August 2008 ment Group
N/A 540,000 RTKL Architects Inc.
Los Angeles 90015

46 Miller Children's January 2006 Long Beach Memorial
Hospital December 2008 Medical Center
2801 Atlantic Ave. 124,000 Taylor and Associates
Long Beach 90801

47 717 Ninth Street Fall 2006 MerueloMaddux
717 W. Ninth St. Winter 2009 Properties Inc.
Los Angeles 90021 500,000 Mambo Architecture

48 Plaza Tower 2007 Presbyterian
Presbyterian Inter- 2012 Intercommunity
community Hospital 250,000 Hospital
Whittier 90602 RBB Architects Inc.

49 California Science September 2006 California Science
Center Phase II June 2009 Center Foundation
700 State Drive 170,000 EHDD Architecture
Los Angeles 90037

50 Sony--Culver Office May 2007 Sony Pictures
Project May 2009 Entertainment
Sony Picture N/A Gensler
Entertainment Lot
Culver City 90232

Project General Contractor
* name * name
Rank * location * phone

1 Eastside Extension of Washington/Obayashi/Shimmick Joint
the Metro Gold Line Venture
Union Station to East (510) 293-1100
Los Angeles Los Angeles
County

2 Expo Light Rail Line FCI/Fluor/Parsons, a joint venture
Phase I (626) 440-2000
Downtown Los Angeles to
Culver City Los Angeles
County

3 JW Marriott/The Ritz PCL/Webcor/Clark Construction
Carlton/The Ritz (818) 246-3481
Carlton Residences
L.A. Live
Los Angeles 90015

4 Kaiser Permanente Los Rudolph and Sletten Inc.
Angeles Medical Center (650) 216-3600
4867 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles 90027

5 LAC+USC Medical Center McCarthy, Clark, Hunt, a joint venture
Replacement (949) 851-8383
1849 Marengo St.
Los Angeles 90033

6 LAX Tom Bradley Clark/McCarthy, a joint venture
International Terminal (714) 252-9779
1 World Way
Los Angeles 90045

7 Ronald Reagan UCLA Tutor-Saliba-Perini Corps.
Hospital (310) 824-5053
750 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles 90095

8 Childrens Hospital Rudolph and Sletten Inc.
Los Angeles (323) 660-2450
4650 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles 90027

9 Kaiser Downey Medical McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Center Replacement (949) 851-8383
Hospital
93018 Imperial Highway
Downey 90242

10 LAX South Airfield Tutor-Saliba Corp./O&G Industries JV
One World Way (310) 491-3100
Los Angeles 90041

11 Concerto Astani Construction Inc.
Ninth and Figueroa (310) 276-6751
Los Angeles 90015

12 The Century Webcor Builders
Avenue of the Stars (650) 349-2727
Century City 90067

13 Santa Monica UCLA Tutor-Saliba Corp./
Medical Center & S.J. Amaroso Construction Co. Inc.
Orthopaedic Hospital (818) 362-8391
1344 16th St.
Santa Monica 90404

14 The Americana at Brand Bernards
Brand Blvd., Central (818) 898-1521
Ave. and Colorado St.
Glendale 91202

15 Horizon at Playa Vista Morley Construction Co.
Bluff Creek Drive and (310) 399-1600
Campus Center
Playa Vista 90094

16 Terranea Resort Turner Construction Co.
6610 Palos Verdes Drive (310) 802-7040
South Rancho Palos
Verdes 90275

17 JMB Condo Towers N/A
Century City N/A
Constellation Blvd.
Century City

18 Montage Hotel Beverly Charles Pankow Builders Ltd.
Hills (626) 304-1190
Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills 90210

19 Police Headquarters Tutor-Saliba Corp.
Facility (818) 362-8391
1st St. and Spring St.
Los Angeles 90012

20 Luma Evo Howard S. Wright Construction Co.
11th and Grand Ave. (949) 567-1909
Los Angles 90015

21 Symantec Corp. Office Webcor Builders
Campus (650) 349-2727
800-900 Corporate
Pointe Culver City
90230

22 W Hollywood Hotel and Webcor Builders
Residences (650) 349-2727
Hollywood and Vine
Hollywood 90028

23 California Veterans S.J. Amoroso Construction Co. Inc.
Home (650) 654-1900
800 S. Bingham Ave.
Los Angeles 90049

24 New White Memorial Charles Pankow Builders Ltd., Bernards
Medical Center Construction
1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez (626) 791-1125, (818) 898-1521
Ave. Los Angeles 90033

25 Palazzo Westwood Casden Builders Inc.
Village (310) 274-5553
1073 Glendon Ave.
Westwood 90024

26 Vue Bovis Lend Lease
255 Fifth St. (213) 430-4660
San Pedro

27 Central High School PCL Construction Services Inc.
No. 9 (818) 246-3481
450 N. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles 90012

28 LNR Warner Center Snyder Langston
21255 Burbank Blvd. (949) 863-9200
Woodland Hills 91367

29 The Pointe Krismar Construction Co.
2900 W. Alameda Ave. (310) 458-3170
Burbank 91505

30 I-405 High Occupancy Balfour Beatty Construction Inc.
Vehicle Lane (310) 216-9300
Route 90 to I-10
Los Angeles County

31 Central Los Angeles Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
High School No. 11 (949) 852-0111
1200 W. Colton St.
Los Angeles 90012

32 Red Building Jones & Jones
8687 Melrose Ave. (805) 640-3050
West Hollywood 90069

33 Kaiser Panorama City McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Medical Center Hospital (949) 851-8383
Replacement & Central
Plant
13652 Cantara St.
Panorama City 91402

34 Hollywood & Vine Webcor Builders
Apartments (650) 349-2727
Hollywood Blvd. and
Vine St. Hollywood
90028

35 St. John's Health McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Center Keck Diagnostic 949) 851-8383
and Treatment Center
Step 2A & 2B
1301 22nd St.
Santa Monica 90404

36 Palmdale Regional Layton Construction Co.
Medical Center (661) 266-1599
N/A
Palmdale

37 Eastside High School Multiple Contractors
3200 E. J-8 N/A
Lancaster 93535

38 LACMA Phase I Matt Construction Corp.
5905 Wilshire Blvd. (562) 903-2277
Los Angeles 90036

39 Hospital West Tower McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
100 W. California (949) 851-8383
Pasadena 91109

40 Life Sciences PCL Construction Services Inc.
Replacement Building (818) 246-3481
N/A
Westwood

41 Pasadena Convention Clark Construction Group LP
Center (714) 429-977
128 S. Morengo Ave.
Pasadena 91101

42 NoHo Commons, Phases J. H. Snyder Co.
II and III (323) 857-5546
5300 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood 91601

43 East Valley Middle Bernards
School No. 1 (818) 898-1521
6501 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
North Hollywood 91601

44 Solair Wilshire Bovis Lend Lease
3785 Wilshire Blvd. (213) 430-4660
Los Angeles 90010

45 LA Live Buildings Clark Construction Group LP
A & B (714) 429-9779
N/A
Los Angeles 90015

46 Miller Children's Turner Construction Co.
Hospital (714) 940-9000
2801 Atlantic Ave.
Long Beach 90801

47 717 Ninth Street Kajima Corp.
717 W. Ninth St. (323) 269-0020
Los Angeles 90021

48 Plaza Tower Millie & Severson Inc.
Presbyterian Inter- (562) 493-3611
community Hospital
Whittier 90602

49 California Science Morley Construction Company
Center Phase II (310) 399-1600
700 State Drive
Los Angeles 90037

50 Sony--Culver Office C.W. Driver
Project (626) 351-8800
Sony Picture
Entertainment Lot
Culver City 90232

N/A--Not Applicable

Note: Information provided by representatives of the owners and general
contractors. Projects must be under contruction as of August 15, 2007.

To the best of our knowledge, this information is accurate as of press
time. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and
thoroughness of the list, omissions and typographical errors sometimes
occur. Please send corrections or additions on company letterhead to
the Research Department, Los Angeles Business Journal, 5700 Wilshire
Blvd., Suite 170, Los Angeles 90036. [c]2007 Los Angeles Business
Journal. This list may not be reprinted in whole or in part without
prior written permission from the editor. Reprints are available from
Wright's Reprints, (877) 652-5295.

(1) Business Journal estimate.

(2) Developed by Sares Regis Group.

Researched by David Nusbaum

What a difference 9 years makes in Valley real estate: players and projects made it all interesting

What a difference 9 years makes in Valley real estate: players and projects made it all interesting.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/What+a+difference+9+years+makes+in+Valley+real+estate%3a+players+and...-a0174597958

This is my last column for the Business Journal.

On Aug. 61 will join Lee & Associates LA North/Ventura Inc. as director of marketing after more than nine years here, all of them coveting real estate.

It's been an action-packed job, changing almost with each new day, as I was reminded recently when Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine told me a story from his days as a beat cop.

He found himself chasing a "perp" into the Topanga Theater in a dramatic cops-and-robbers scene that ended behind the movie screen of the theater as the audience looked on.

The Topanga Theater is gone. So is the big vacant Woodland Hills hill side at DeSoto and Oxnard avenues that was once called Warner Ridge, the GM Plant in Panorama City, the old Lockheed Martin Skunk Works plant in Burbank, and the Adolf's factory and Robinsons-May headquarters in North Hollywood.

Many of the San Fernando Valley's old landmarks have been replaced in the years since I started writing about real estate for the Business Journal.

I didn't know it at the time, but a sea change was taking place, transforming the Valley from its suburban roots to a metropolis rife with business opportunities, and real estate posed some of the biggest.

In 1998, Douglas Emmett began the redevelopment of the Sherman Oaks Galleria, Rick Caruso began the Calabasas Commons, a little known Miami residential developer, Lennar Corp., acquired the Prudential campus in Warner Center. Jerry Katell was working on the redevelopment of Warner Ridge. An entrepreneur, whose company provided pay phones for prisons and other public buildings, began work on the Premiere at Sherman Oaks, one of the first, large-scale luxury apartments in the Valley. Voit Co. and Selleck Development Group began an industrial complex on the site of the dormant GM Plant in Panorama City.

Many of these projects became harbingers of the future. Lennar (which spun off a commercial group called LNR Property Group) ushered in a wave of campus-style office developments much like those that characterized the Westside. The Commons, with its outdoor, Main-Street U.S.A. design, replaced the traditional enclosed mall as the preferred shopping environment. The Premiere along with Warner Ridge (which was ultimately sold to a residential developer) and the lofts that emerged from the Adolf's factory turned out to be at the forefront of a gentrification that has led to widespread acceptance of luxury apartments and one-half-million-dollar condos in a community that was once the exclusive domain of the single-family-home-with-backyard-and-barbeque set. Zellman's Empire Center (since sold) on the site of Lockheed's former plant, became the prototypical big box power center.

The players

Players came and went. Paul Jenkins, CEO of PCS, the developers of Premiere and a number of other luxury developments throughout the Valley, was, when I last spoke with him, working on a development in Mexico. Katell, as of his last e-mail, is exploring Italy full time. Though Voit Co. is still very active in the area, Bob Voit spends most of his time in Orange County, and Tim Regan heads development activities here.

Back in 1998, Westfield was a little known developer from Australia that had acquired the Topanga mall a year earlier and followed it up with the acquisition of the Promenade in Woodland Hills the next year. Today, with a hugely successful expansion of Topanga under its belt, another underway at Fashion Square and a third proposed in Woodland Hills, the company is the largest shopping center developer in the San Fernando Valley and, to most folks, a local business.

Robinsons-May is now Macy's, and, from what I read, Macy's may not be Macy's for long.

J. Allen Radford, who, after being chosen by the Community Redevelopment Agency to redevelop NoHo, took me on a tour through ramshackle buildings and littered alleyways, is long gone, having relinquished his development rights to J.H. Snyder Co. Snyder is just finishing up a wholesale transformation of North Hollywood.

Douglas Emmett owns most of the Warner Center along with downtown Sherman Oaks and parts of Encino.

As with most journalism jobs, I hit the ground running as I began covering the real estate beat. It took years before the full impact of the things I was writing about really sunk in.

In those early days, I relied on many of my readers to bring me up to speed and teach me what I needed to know. I am grateful to all of you, too many to mention by name, for your time, your patience and your trust. (To the dozens of you who explained cap rates to me, over and over again, I apologize.)

You shared not just your news, but also your expertise, perspectives and even your anxieties about the future and the risks you were taking.

There were some tough years. No sooner did the memory of the 90s recession fade than the Internet bubble burst and the terrorist attacks of 9/11 brought best-laid plans to a halt.

Cycles came and passed. Rents rose, fell and rose again. Leasing was brisk, and then it slowed. Developments began, stalled and moved forward. Acquisition activity fired up.

I will miss hearing of your victories. I will be just a little less wise without your perspectives about the long haul when things turn sour. (Calling every 30 days as you underestimated the time to close a deal, not so much.)

And as I look back, I see that what I learned was not just about real estate. Here are some of the lessons I will take with me:

* You can get there first and still finish last. Just ask Radford, who couldn't deliver in NoHo and had to turn the job over to Snyder.

* You never know where the next great idea will come from. Hardly anyone knew Rick Caruso when he started building the Commons, and his vision turned out to be the shopping center of the 21st Century.

* The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Universal Studios expansion plan was nearly implemented, pulled entirely off the table and now is back on the drawing board under NBC's tutelage.

* No guts. No glory. M. David Paul started redeveloping the Burbank Media Center as the entertainment industry retrenched. He stuck with it. His Burbank developments are among the most successful in the Valley and the area rents are hitting records.

* It ain't over 'till it's over. Selleck Development got the green light from the city for a Home Depot development in Agoura Hills and lost the battle when local retailers put the issue on the ballot. Lowe's and Rotkin Real Estate Group failed to get the Westlake Village city council to approve their development proposal and brought the issue to a vote, but the retailer and developer lost anyway.

* Nothing is certain. And everything is possible.

See ya around the Valley.

Please forward correspondence and press releases to San Fernando Valley Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff at jschaff@sfvbj.com.

Huge rise in apartment supply: despite record rents, residents come to NoHo Arts District.

Huge rise in apartment supply: despite record rents, residents come to NoHo Arts District.
June 11, 2007

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Huge+rise+in+apartment+supply:+despite+record+rents,+residents+come...-a0174597648

In some cases leasing is proceeding a little more slowly than was hoped, and property managers all note that, with so many new units on the market, competition is rising, but in general NoHo is proving that if you build it, they will come.

A steady stream of renters is signing up for the 700 new luxury apartment units that have come on the market since last year in the NoHo Arts District area in North Hollywood, willing and able to pay what are often record rates for the San Fernando Valley, and the streets of the neighborhood are slowly tilling with the footsteps of urban professionals as was initially envisioned.

Meanwhile, even more new apartments are on the way, and the area is beginning to attract the interest of institutional-grade investors who would never have considered buying in Noah Hollywood before.

There are growing pains--new properties are working out the bugs--and vandalism and graffiti are still in evidence, but for the most part, NoHo has moved headlong into the transformation promised when the Metro line made its first appearance.

"Up until a year or two ago, there had not been a lot of institutional investor interest in NoHo," said Greg Harris, a multifamily broker who runs The Hams Group of Marcus & Millichap. "But with this master-planned redevelopment, institutional investors are looking at it as much more of a core market."

With the opening of the Metro line, city planners and developers hoped that NoHo would be transformed, joining a growing national new Urbanism movement with self contained neighborhoods connected by rail and bus.

But as the development dragged on for years, it began to look like nothing would move North Hollywood from its worn and weathered state of disrepair.

The opening of two brand new apartment complexes, The Lofts at NoHo Commons and the Gallery at NoHo Commons, both offering luxury rental living at prices ranging from $1,540 a month to $2,700 a month, seems to have finally started the transition.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Equity Residential, a publicly held real estate firm acquired Academy Village Apartments and is now renovating the 250 units there from top to bottom with new appliances, flooring and exterior landscaping.

JSM, the developers of The NoHo Collection, which opened its first building with 103 units in 2005, is in varying stages on an aggressive development plan to build another 600-odd units, with perhaps double that number in a later stage.

And brokers report that, while no agreements have been reached, properties such as Fairfield Properties' Gallery, which is being marketed for sale, are attracting a new class of investors.

The newfound supply of units is still a little ahead of the demand for some. At the Gallery, where about 30 percent of the units have been filled, the activity is somewhat slower than was hoped, in part because there were delays in opening. And at NoHo Collection, which had until recently been fully occupied, the occupancy rate has fallen to 90 percent.

"It has been slower for this time of year," said Dewayne McClanahan, assistant property manager. "Competition-wise, yes, there's more."

But at the Lofts, units are filling up at a rate of eight to 10 a week, beating expectations by about two units a week.

And even where leasing is somewhat slower, there is ample evidence that the market is fundamentally strong.

"We had a really busy month in May," said Kimberly Heaton, the Gallery's property manager. "Our traffic flow is consistent. With so much new product, I think it has luxury: High rent been a lot more competitive than we had hoped, but do I think it will be successful? Definitely."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The newcomers are also beginning to change the look and feel of the neighborhood. Some report seeing a stronger police presence along Lankershim Boulevard in the evenings, new restaurants are opening and, slowly, more pedestrians are taking to the streets.

"From what I hear it's done a 360," said McClanahan. "We have people here who said at one point they wouldn't even walk their dogs in the street."

Some problems

Problems with auto vandalism and graffiti still linger, in some cases causing a lot of concern for tenants.

"We chose the area. because it looked safe," said Genard Eulatriz, who said he was one of the first tenants to occupy the Gallery. "It was secure and it was brand new and it had all the amenities. But about a month and a half later many people started complaining. A neighbor is infested with roaches. There was a break in with a T-Bird convertible. People are going to be moving out."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Gallery's new manager, assigned to the post not a week ago, doesn't deny that there have been some problems.

"The property was built near sewer lines and that sometimes causes certain types of bugs," Heaton said. "I met with an exterminator to work out a preventative program."

Vandalism is not unique to the Gallery. The Lofts has had some graffiti and a few isolated automobile break-ins. But, the property managers say, those things are not unique to NoHo, and they are to be expected in a neighborhood in transition. Neighbors meanwhile seem to be coping well.

"I was staying on Miracle Mile, and it was too congested," said Alex Evans, a commercial model who recently made the move to the Lofts after looking at six or seven different complexes in the area. "Some streets are desolate, and where it's desolate it could be gang infested, but for the most part, it doesn't bother me. It's quiet. I like the hardwood floors, and it's got a real good community feeling, maybe because it's so new."

As expected because of its proximity to the studios, the neighborhood is attracting a lot of entertainment industry professionals, but others too are moving in.

"I wouldn't say a majority are entertainment related," said Vanessa Propersi, regional manager at Alliance Residential Co., which manages the Lofts. "We have doctors, lawyers. There's definitely a market out there."

Editor's Note: Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff is a resident of the Gallery, at NoHo Commons.

BY SHELLY GARCIA

Senior Reporter

NORTH HOLLYWOOD LOFTS SELL FOR $93M

North Hollywood Luxury Lofts Sell for $93M
January 29, 2007
By Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent

http://www.commercialpropertynews.com/cpn/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003538861

Taking advantage of luxury loft apartments in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, Calif., Redwood Partners and Rockwood Capital purchased NoHo for $92.5 million from J.H. Snyder Company.

NoHo Lofts (pictured) is a 292 unit luxury apartment community primarily comprised of loft-style units located at 11136 Chandler Boulevard in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood. The NoHo Arts District is a new Los Angeles community located near Valley Village and North Hollywood, which is home to contemporary theaters, art galleries, cafes and interesting shops. NoHo Lofts is within walking distance of the Academy of Television Arts, immediately north of Universal Studios, and immediately west of Burbank—the headquarters city of Walt Disney Company, NBC, the West Coast operations of ABC and Warner Bros. A Metro Rail station is located in the one-square-mile NoHo Arts District, as well as the North Hollywood station of the Red Line, and the terminus of the Metro Orange Line buses.

Transwestern’s multi-housing capital advisors in Los Angeles arranged the sale with Curtis Palmer and Herb Chase, managing directors of Transwestern multi-housing capital advisors, representing the seller and the buyer.

"From the seller's standpoint, takes way all the lease-up risk as the buyer is taking over responsibility for leasing up the property and for the buyer, who is a long term operator of apartments, they are buying a fantastic asset in a location that is the hub of the metro line and terminus for all the buses," Curtis Palmer, managing director of Transwestern told CPN. "The operating fundamentals are outstanding, especially as the NoHo Arts District continues to improve."

Los Angeles-area apartments offer solid underlying fundamentals, led by increasing occupancy and accelerating rent growth. As the gap between the average apartment rent and a mortgage payment for the median-priced home widens further, the local renter pool will continue to expand. Meanwhile, strong employment and population growth in the
prime renter demographic will also sustain demand. As a result, vacancy is expected to hover around 3 percent, allowing owners to continue to increase revenues through stronger rent growth, according to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co.’s Los Angeles County Metro Area October 2006 apartment research quarterly update.

After gaining 30,000 jobs in 2005, employment in the Los Angeles metro area is expected to post a 0.6 percent increase in 2006 with the addition of 26,000 jobs, the report stated. Completions on new construction will increase slightly this year, as developers deliver 5,100 units. While the total this year is up from 2005, it represents a minor 0.7 percent addition to existing apartment inventory. The total will likely be insufficient to accommodate demand growth, according to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co.

Construction projects: ranked by project cost

Construction projects: ranked by project cost.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Construction+projects%3a+ranked+by+project+cost.-a0161283738

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Ranked by project cost
Construction
Rank Project Cost
* name (millions)
* location

1 Eastside Extension of the Metro Gold Line $868.8
Union Station to East Los Angeles
Los Angeles County
2 Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center 600
4867 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles 90027
3 LAC+USC Medical Center Replacement Project 559
Marengo St. & State St.
Los Angeles 90033
4 Ronald Reagan UCLA Hospital 465
750 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles 90095
5 Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center 426
Imperial Highway and Bellflower Blvd.
Downey 90242
6 Childrens Hospital Los Angeles 414
4650 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles 90027
7 Saint John's Health Center's Howard Keck 394.4
Diagnostic and Treatment Center
1328 22nd St.
Santa Monica 90404
8 Westfield Topanga Redevelopment/Expansion 330
6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Canoga Park 91303
9 2000 Avenue of the Stars 300
2000 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles 90067
10 Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center & Orthopaedic 300
Hospital
134416th St.
Santa Monica 90404
11 Elleven Luma Evo 262
11th and Grand Ave.
Los Angles 90015
12 Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village 250
2 Dole Drive
Westlake Village 91362
13 Runway 25L Relocation and Center Taxiway 241
Improvements
One World Way
Los Angeles 90041
14 Central High School No. 9 208.8
450 N. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles 90017
15 New White Memorial Medical Center 183
1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave.
Los Angeles 90033
16 NoHo Commons 180
Lankershim Blvd. and Chandler Blvd.
Los Angeles 91601
17 Del Amo Fashion Center 180
3 Del Amo Fashion Center
Torrance 90503
18 Central L.A. High School No. 11 174
1200 W. Colton St.
Los Angeles 90012
19 Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical 173
Center
6041 Cadillac Ave.
Los Angeles 90034
20 Huntington Memorial Hospital West Tower 170
100 W. California Terrace
Pasadena 91109
21 Central L.A. High School No. 2 164.6
1500 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles 90006
22 Miller Children's Hospital 151
2801 Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach 90806
23 Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Replacement 150
Hospital
13652 Cantara St.
Panorama City 91402
24 Central L.A. Area New High School No. 10 145.7
322 S. Lucas Ave.
Los Angeles 90017
25 I-405 High Occupancy Vehicle Lane 135
Route 90 to I-10
Los Angeles County

Rank Description Profile
* start date
* completion date
* square footage

1 six-mile light rail extension of Metro July 2004
Gold Line with eight stations from Union December 2009
Station to East Los Angeles N/A
2 400-bed replacement hospital, new medical March 2001
office building, central plant, demolition 2008
of current parking structure 1,000,000
3 600-bed inpatient tower, diagnostic/ April 2003
treatment facility, specialty outpatient April 2007
clinic building, central plant 1,500,000
4 520-bed replacement hospital Winter 2000
Spring 2007
1,100,000
5 replacement hospital, two medical office May 2006
buildings, central plant, parking garage March 2009
1,000,000
6 hospital building January 2006
December 2009
460,000
7 four-story medical center February 2005
June 2009
275,000
8 250 shops and boutiques, dining, amenities February 2005
October 2006
1,600,000
9 12-story office building, dining March 2004
v cultural center Fall 2006
790,000
10 271-bed replacement hospital, new central March 2000
plant and four wings, renovation to Fall 2009
existing wing, parking structure, 523,000
demolition of nine-story hospital
11 residential, commercial and parking September 2004
development March 2008
1,500,000
12 hotel, wellness center, spa, conference May 2005
center, television studio, parking November 2006
structure 769,080
13 LAX south runway relocation and taxiway March 2006
improvements July 2008
N/A
14 950-seat performing arts theater, parking March 2006
garage/gymnasium, library, cafeteria, and August 2008
classroom buildings 238,000
15 167-bed patient care tower, medical office August 2001
building, parking structure, central July 2008
utilities building 779,253
16 438 apartments, 292 lofts, retail June 2004
September 2006 2
650,000
17 lifestyle wing addition December 2004
October 2006
420,000
18 2,835 seat high school Fall 2005
Spring 2008
320,046
19 106-bed hospital tower addition, central April 2004
plant upgrade Spring 2007
200,000
20 seven story tower with 128 private care June 2005
rooms February 2008
237,734
21 2,403-seat high school Winter 2005
Spring 2007
255,333
22 four-story medical building and central July 2005
plant May 2008
139,000
23 218-bed hospital, central utility plant December 2003
June 2007
420,000
24 1,944-seat high school Winter 2004
Fall 2006
231,105
25 3.6-mile high occupancy vehicle lane October 2004
construction on I-405 from Route 90 to Winter 2008
I-10 N/A

Rank Planners General Contractor
* owner * name
* architect * phone

1 L.A. County Metropolitan Washington/Obayashi/Shimmick
Transportation Authority Joint Venture
N/A (510) 293-1100
2 Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Rudolph and Sletten Inc.
Inc. (650) 216-3600
SmithGroup/Chong Partners
Architecture
3 Los Angeles County MCH (1)
HOK Architects Inc./LBL (949) 851-8383
Associated
Architects
4 UCLA Tutor-Saliba-Perini Corps.
Perkins + Will (310) 824-5053
5 Kaiser Foundation Hospitals McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Inc. (949) 851-8383
HMC Architects
6 Childrens Hospital Los Rudolph and Sletten Inc.
Angeles (323) 913-4240
Zimmer-Gunsul-Frasca
Partnership
7 Sant John's Health Center McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
HOK Architects Inc./ (949) 851-8383
SmithGroup
8 Westfield Group Westfield Corp.
Westfield (818) 594-8732
9 Entertainment Center LLC Hathaway Dinwiddie
Gensler & Associates Construction Co.
(213) 236-0500
10 UCLA Tutor-Saliba Corp./
CO Architects S.J. Amaroso Construction Co.
Inc.
(818) 362-8391
11 South Group Howard S. Wright Construction
Ankrom Moisan Architects, GBD Co.
Architects, TVA Architects (949) 567-1909
12 Westlake Wellness Matt Construction Corp.
Properties LLP (562) 903-2277
WATG
13 Los Angeles World Airports Tutor-Saliba Corp./O&G
HNTB Architects Industries JV
(310) 491-3100
14 LAUSD PCL Construction Services Inc.
Coop Himmelblau/ (818) 246-3481
HMC Architects
15 Adventist Health Charles Pankow Builders
Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz (626) 791-1125
16 J.H. Snyder Co./Fairfield Fairfield Residential/Hill
Van Tilburg Banvard & Contracting
Soderbergh (858) 457-2123
17 Del Amo Fashion Center Bayley Construction/Whiting
Operating Co. LLC Turner
RTKL Architects Inc. (949) 863-0800
18 LAUSD Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
WWCOT (949) 852-0111
19 Kaiser Foundation Hospitals McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Inc. (949) 851-8383
HMC Group
20 Huntington Memorial Hospital McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
HDR Architecture Inc. (949) 851-8383
21 LAUSD Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Studio Works (949) 852-0111
22 Long Beach Memorial Medical Turner Construction Co.
Center (213) 891-3001
Taylor and Associates
23 Kaiser Foundation Hospitals McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Inc. (949) 851-8383
CO Architects
24 LAUSD Clark Construction Group LLC
Johnson Fain (714) 429-9779
25 California Department of Balfour Beatty Construction
Transportation Inc.
N/A (310) 216-9300

N/A--Not Applicable

Note: Information provided by representatives of the owners and general
contractors. Projects must be under construction as of August 15, 2006.

To the best of our knowledge, this information is accurate as of press
time. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and
thoroughness of the list, omissions and typographical errors sometimes
occur. Please send corrections or additions on company letterhead to the
Research Department, Los Angeles Business Journal, 5700 Wilshire Blvd.,
Suite 170, Los Angeles 90036. [c] 2006 Los Angeles Business Journal.
This list may not be reprinted in whole or in part without prior
written permission from the editor. Reprints are available from
Wright's Reprints, (877) 652-5295.

(1) MCH is a tri-venture comprised of McCarthing Building Cos. Inc.,
Clark Construction Group LP and Hunt Construction Group

(2) Retail portion scheduled to be completed in April 2007.

Researched by David Nusbaum

Residential real estate

Climate: 2006 was the year of the stalemate. Homes sales came to an abrupt stop and then began declining. By July, condominium and single-family home sales declined nearly 20 percent to 1,126 from year ago figures. Condominium developers came under fire from local community groups and worries began to surface that the market was oversaturated. Home prices continued to climb, albeit modestly.

Biggest News: Noho Commons, a mixed use development that includes about 300 loft apartment rentals units, opened for business.

Companies in the News: The Ryland Group Inc., Calabasas, after three years of sharp income increases, saw revenues flatten and earnings decline.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Residential+real+estate.-a0159592154

Universal realizes community key to project

Universal realizes community key to project.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Universal+realizes+community+key+to+project.-a0159592109

This time, NBC Universal figured out it needed some neighborly support.

In announcing a 25-year master plan for its 391-acre Universal City property this month, the media conglomerate learned lessons from previous failed plans and went to the community to build a consensus about the massive project.

The tactic, started at least six months ago, has triggered an unexpected about-face among some business and community groups, which have historically had an icy relationship with the studio: they're withholding judgment until all the specifics are fleshed out.

"We're waiting for all the details. We haven't seen the whole project yet," said Richard K. Bogy, chair of government affairs and community development for the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce.

The blueprint calls for a considerable overhaul of the historic production facility and back lot, including refurbishing the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park by adding 80,000 square feet of retail and dining, plus 35,000 square feet of additional retail and dining, a 3,000-seat entertainment venue and a 500-room hotel at City Walk.

Thomas Properties Group, meanwhile, plans to develop a 650,000-square-foot studio and office campus near the Universal City MTA station at Lankershim Boulevard and Campo de Cahuenga Way.

But the centerpiece would be the 124-acre, nearly 3,000-unit residential element called Universal Village centered on the eastern portion of the back lot, a largely undeveloped area hemmed in by existing hillside homes to the east.


Tom Smith, senior vice president of West Coast real estate for NBC Universal, said crews would also construct a new surface road from Forest Lawn Drive through the back lot to Coral Drive, the connector road just north of the Hollywood (101) Freeway (also called Buddy Holly Drive).

The street would serve as a "Great Street," housing 1000,000 square feet of retail and dining in addition to 2,900 apartments, condominiums and homes.

All told, the 25-year project could add more than $3 billion in direct investment in the Valley.

At a Dec. 6 press conference, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the proposal a "golden opportunity to make the vision of new urban design a reality." "With a housing crisis, traffic congestion and an ever-growing population, this is the face of smart, responsible, environmentally-friendly development for the future," he said.

Victor Viereck, a vice president for the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, also applauded the project.

"Any additional housing, even when it's all market rate, helps the overall supply, which helps the affordability," he said. "When people are earning money they can afford it."

Viereck also pointed to the impact on the NoHo Arts District, a redeveloped section of Lankershim Boulevard teeming with art galleries, theater scene and the new 278-unit Lofts at Noho Commons.

"It will spur additional good development from there," Viereck said. "That will be helpful."

Community concern

The expansion, however, has reignited two long-held fears about any project at Universal: increased traffic and noise.

"The concerns are always about the Cahuenga Pass and Barham and people trying to access the freeway," said Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council President Anastasia Mann. "It's already congested."

Villaraigosa said he's aware the worries.

"While I welcome this project with open arms, I completely understand your legitimate concerns about its magnitude and scope," Villaraigosa said at the press conference. "The community will be part of the process every step of the way and I will personally hold NBC accountable to deliver on that commitment."

NBC Universal, in turn, has met with sever al community groups to go over plans, including the Studio City Neighborhood Council.

"They didn't want it to be a big shock," said Secretary Alan Levy, who was surprised at how candid the developers were.

They also met with the Toluca Lake Chamber about five months ago and incorporated many of the suggestions into the plan, including the new surface road, Bogy said.

Universal is also calling for a widening of the Barham bridge over the 101 and adding a southbound entrance to the expressway. Officials are also hopeful that the Red Line, which has a stop at Universal, will help cut down on congestion, although the current stop is at least a mile from the proposed residential element.

Years away

The project still faces a gauntlet of issues before construction starts, one of the biggest being figuring out what elements will sit on county and city land.

The majority of the property--including all of the theme park, studio and a large chunk of the back lot--sits in unincorporated Los Angeles County.

The city, meanwhile, controls all four corners of the vast property: an office building and parking lot at Barbara Boulevard and the Los Angeles River; a largely undeveloped plot at Barham and Buddy Holly; a small plot at Lankershim Boulevard and the L.A. River; and the southwest corner, which includes the hotel and office elements, the property's largest tax earners.

Under the current proposal, the housing and hotel elements would sit on unincorporated land and therefore benefit only county coffers. That could create an issue between the city and county, especially in regards to the highly sought hotel bed tax.

Thomas Properties and Rios Clementi Hale Studios will iron out such issues in the master plan currently under development. Once that's completed, the project will likely require a number of zoning changes before any environmental issues are addressed. City and county approvals are expected to begin next fall; early estimates put a groundbreaking no sooner than 2008.

With such a number of issues, one figure that will likely play a major role is city Planning Director Gall Goldberg.

She said how the city and county will interact is important, but that hasn't been figured out yet. "We haven't worked out the planning process," she said. "It's a bit of a challenge."

What is clear, Goldberg said, is that the agencies will have to work with the community to make sure everyone is on the same page.

"Our goal is to make it an extremely public process," she said. "We'll all come to an agreement."

From Bogy's perspective, that process has already started.

"The hope is that they'll continue to work for the community," he said.

By CHRIS COATES

Staff Reporter

Noho Commons

Noho Commons: Performance artists, painters and sculptors were on hand at the ribbon cutting ceremonies for the opening of the Lofts at Noho Commons. The artists, who were actually engaged in creating works during the ceremony, were there to highlight the location of the mixed use project in the center of the Noho Arts District, said Cliff Goldstein, senior partner with J.H. Snyder Company, the developers of the project. Goldstein delivered the opening remarks for the ceremonies, noting that the redevelopment of the area at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards has been more than six years in the making. Jerry Snyder told the group about the start of the third phase of the project, which will include an office building and a movie theater. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials were also on hand talking about the revitalization of North Hollywood.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Noho+Commons.-a0156362250

PHASE I OF NOHO COMMONS OPENS LOFT PROJECT ON THE MOVE

PHASE I OF NOHO COMMONS OPENS LOFT PROJECT ON THE MOVE.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PHASE+I+OF+NOHO+COMMONS+OPENS+LOFT+PROJECT+ON+THE+MOVE.-a0154771178

Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- The first phase of NoHo Commons -- a massive retail, loft and apartment complex that has drawn a half-billion dollars in investment -- opened Monday.

The 292-unit residential loft complex, strategically located at the edge of the Red and Orange lines terminus, was hailed by developers and city officials as a transit-friendly project. It was billed as an affordable complex that should draw the likes of artists, teachers and firefighters, but some artists at the event said they would find it hard to come up with the rent.

``It's nice,'' said Preston Craig, as he painted NoHo in orange letters on a canvas. ``But the irony is that artists can't afford to live here.''

The loft units range in price from about $1,400 for a 580-square-foot unit to $2,500 for a 980-square-foot one. Officials hope that it will encourage transit use among residents.

The $100 million loft complex is the first of three phases funded in part with $37 million in local, state and federal grants.

It will include a 438-unit apartment and condo complex and retail center with a HOWS market that will open in 2007. About 20 percent of the units will be set aside for low-income renters.

Developers also announced they will break ground on a seven-screen art house theater and retail complex across the street to open in 2009.

``This is a place where you can live, work and use public transit,'' said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. ``It's what we have got to see a lot more of in this city.''

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

(818) 713-3741

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Jennifer Berry, a ballet dancer, takes part in the NoHo Commons ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday. About 20 percent of the units will be for low-income renters.

(2) Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa busts out a smile for sculptor Erin Barrett during Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

RESIDENTIAL UNITS AT NOHO COMMONS OPEN

Residential units at Noho Commons open. - allbusiness.com
By Garcia, Shelly
Publication: San Fernando Valley Business Journal
Date: Monday, November 20 2006

http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-california/3995715-1.html

On November 20, city dignitaries cut the ribbon opening The Lofts at Noho Commons, a pioneering transit village that has been nearly four years in the making.
But for the officials at J.H. Snyder Co. the work is just beginning ... again.
The development company is beginning work on the third phase of the project, which has been redesigned since the initial planning for the complex back in 2002.

For the remaining three-acre parcel of the complex, the company has scaled down an office building that was to have been built in phase three and added a movie theater.
"We're expecting to finalize terms to bring a seven-screen Laemmle theater with 1,100 seats to the project," said Cliff Goldstein, senior partner at J.H. Snyder Co.

The office building, one of the only speculative office projects under construction on the Valley floor, was initially intended to be about twice the size of current plans, but skyrocketing construction costs made it difficult to attract financing for the project.
"The partners and I determined we were willing to take the financial risk to build a smaller building," Goldstein said.

Bringing a movie theater to the project was an idea that had been on the community's wish list ever since Snyder first began negotiating for the project, but theaters were consolidating and retrenching at the time.

Snyder, which is currently in the process of acquiring the neighboring Valley Plaza shopping center, first began talks with Laemmle about locating in that complex.

A movie theater, with its very high construction costs, is not the most lucrative option for any developer--indeed Snyder executives say they will not be turning a profit on that portion of the project. But the theater component would provide a kind of finishing touch on Noho Commons, with its pioneering strategy of creating what is arguably the first urban village designed from ground up in Los Angeles.

In addition to the 280-odd residential for-rent units, most of them lofts, the complex will include 14 live-work lofts suited to artists, craftsmen and others whose businesses and lifestyles can be located in one place; a Howes Market and restaurants that, so far, include The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, California Pizza Kitchen, Daphne's Greek Cafe, and Coldstone Creamery. T-Mobile and Wells Fargo have also signed onto the location.

J.H. Snyder Co. Announces Movie Theater, Office Building to Be Part of New Project in North Hollywood Arts District

J.H. Snyder Co. Announces Movie Theater, Office Building to Be Part of New Project in North Hollywood Arts District
Nov 20, 2006

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Los Angeles-based J.H. Snyder Co. today announced it will develop a movie theater, office building and residential complex in North Hollywood, adjacent to its mixed-use, transit-oriented NoHo Commons development.

At a news conference, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Councilman Tom LaBonge and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky hailed the opening of J.H. Snyder Co.'s The Lofts at NoHo Commons for spurring the revitalization of North Hollywood.

"The NoHo Arts District is a unique and special place in Los Angeles," said Mayor Villaraigosa. "The NoHo Commons not only embraces the unique character of the neighborhood, but it's a smart, transit-friendly development where an artist, a teacher or a firefighter can live and enjoy all that the community has to offer."

The $100 million, 292-unit loft project is the first part of NoHo Commons to be completed in the "transit village," located at the terminus of the Metro Red Line subway and Orange Line busway. The $30 million retail portion, adjacent to the lofts and anchored by HOWS Market, is scheduled to open in spring 2007 and serve as a gateway to the North Hollywood Arts District for passengers arriving by mass transit.

J.H. Snyder Co. announced the next project at NoHo Commons it will develop will include: a seven-screen, Laemmle Theaters movie house with 1,100 seats in a stadium setting; a five-story, 100,000-square-foot office building; and a 150-unit residential complex. This phase, valued at $100 million, is expected to be completed in fall 2009.

"With its focus on the arts, North Hollywood is such a unique community, and NoHo Commons was sculpted to fit into the NoHo Arts District," said Jerry Snyder, the founder and senior partner of J.H. Snyder Co. "J.H. Snyder Co. is proud to be a part of the resurgence of North Hollywood. NoHo Commons is directly responsible for stimulating hundreds of millions of dollars in economic investment in North Hollywood and will serve as an economic generator for decades to come."

The Lofts at NoHo Commons includes 14 live/work spaces with retail store fronts on Weddington Street, and 278 residential lofts, 28 of which were designated as affordable housing units. Leasing opportunities for the lofts began November 20. The adjacent 60,000-square-foot retail space, at the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards, will include HOWS Market, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, California Pizza Kitchen, Cold-Stone Creamery, T-Mobile, Daphne's Greek Cafe and Wells Fargo Bank.

J.H. Snyder Co. is the master developer for NoHo Commons, which also includes The Gallery at NoHo Commons, a 438-unit apartment complex that is currently under construction. When complete, the three residential components of NoHo Commons - The Lofts, The Gallery and the planned project announced today - would have 880 newly built housing units within walking distance of mass transit.

J.H. Snyder Co. negotiated a Community Benefits Plan with CRA/LA and Valley Jobs Coalition, a project of Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, that includes living wage jobs, an affordable childcare center, local hiring and a job training program in concert with Valley College. For the first time in city history, a Community Benefits Plan mandated that 75 percent of the estimated 1,000 new jobs created by the development would pay at least the city's living wage. Other plans set goals, but had no requirements.

"We like to say that we don't just develop buildings, we partner with communities," said Clifford Goldstein, senior partner of J.H. Snyder Co. "The Community Benefits Plan sets the project apart and ensures that people who live and work at NoHo Commons will have good jobs and benefits."

The Jerde Partnership, which collaborated with J.H. Snyder Co. to create The River in Rancho Mirage and West Hollywood Gateway in West Hollywood, developed the master plan for the mixed-use Lofts at NoHo Commons and is the architect of the third phase, which includes the Laemmle Theater, office building and residences. The architect of The Lofts at NoHo Commons was Santa Monica-based Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, which also designed J.H. Snyder Co.'s The Crescent in Beverly Hills. Dallas-based Faulkner Design Group created the interior design elements for The Lofts at NoHo Commons. Alliance Residential Company, one of the largest third-party management companies in the western United States, is handling leasing and rentals for The Lofts at NoHo Commons.

About J.H. Snyder Co.

The J.H. Snyder Co. is one of Southern California's oldest privately-held real estate development firms, with a portfolio of nearly 3 million square feet of retail and entertainment/retail development; more than 2 million square feet of premier-class office space; and 41,000 homes and residential units. The Los Angeles-based company has developed two of the largest office projects in Southern California - The Water Garden in Santa Monica and Wilshire Courtyard on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles' Miracle Mile District. The company's fully integrated retail division specializes in creating mixed-use town centers, including NoHo Commons, the 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use transit-oriented development in North Hollywood; the award-winning West Hollywood Gateway, a 250,000-square-foot multi-level urban infill development; and "The River," a 250,000 sq. ft. destination retail/entertainment center in the City of Rancho Mirage.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

CROWDS TURN OUT ON NOHO DEVELOPMENT

CROWDS TURN OUT ON NOHO DEVELOPMENT.

Byline: ANGIE VALENCIA-MARTINEZ Staff Writer

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CROWDS+TURN+OUT+ON+NOHO+DEVELOPMENT.-a0147132685

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- Hundreds of people packed the first public meeting Thursday night on plans to build more than 1,000 town homes, condos and apartments -- a modernization project that includes revamping the lackluster Valley Plaza shopping center into a $560 million open-air mall.

Neighbors at the meeting, held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, raised concerns over increased crime, traffic and its impact on schools and city services from the project, located near Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street.

``It's absolutely overwhelming,'' said resident Stephanie Murray. ``A six-story apartment building? No thank you.''

Developer J.H. Snyder Co. is proposing 700 condos, town homes and possibly lofts for sale and about 300 rental units. Snyder also wants a 5-acre park just east of the Hollywood Freeway and south of Victory Boulevard at Laurel and Valley plazas.

While many agreed that the area needs to be revitalized, they opposed the number of rental properties, saying more owner-occupied units should be built.

The company also wants to spruce up the 22-acre commercial complex at Valley Plaza with a cinema complex and department and retail stores, making it the costliest retail development in the San Fernando Valley.

One potential anchor store for the new complex would be a Federated Department Stores Inc.-owned Macy's, officials with the Miracle Mile-based company said. J.H. Snyder hopes to break ground in about 18 months.

The proposed project is being designed by the same architect who did The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles. J.H. Snyder also is building a $200 million complex of lofts, apartments and shops known as NoHo Commons at the core of the NoHo Arts District, to the south of the current proposed residential development.

``Every project we do is a work in progress, nothing is set in stone,'' said Cliff Goldstien, a partner at J.H. Snyder. ``We have a lot of work to do.''

angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com
(818) 713-3699

EDITORIAL NOHO MOJO CITY CAN'T LET INVESTMENT LOSE

EDITORIAL NOHO MOJO CITY CAN'T LET INVESTMENT LOSE.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/EDITORIAL+NOHO+MOJO+CITY+CAN'T+LET+INVESTMENT+LOSE.-a0147065850

THE economic and cultural rebirth of North Hollywood is a testament to what can happen to a depressed neighborhood when the powerful resources of the city are focused in its direction.
Although it took a decade after the completion of the subway, the promise of a Valley urban hub shows signs of being fulfilled in the next few years, thanks to the convergence of attention by the MTA and CRA, as well as tireless advocacy by Valley groups.

Property prices are increasing as new lofts and apartment buildings and stores rise from long-empty lots. The decrepit Valley Plaza is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover. The NoHo Arts District is becoming a modern-day reality. This neighborhood, so convenient to Hollywood's major studios, as well as on a straight subway shot to downtown, is a natural sell.
Call it NoHo mojo.

Even Rick Caruso, the Westside developer responsible for The Grove and the Commons at Calabasas, now says he may give a second look to a project in NoHo. At one time, he wouldn't consider it because of the crime and other negatives associated with NoHo.

That's as sure a sign as anything that the miasma clinging to North Hollywood for so many years is lifting.

But although NoHo construction is on the upswing and a vision is being developed that hopefully will make it a landmark region of the city, the need for strong leadership in the San Fernando Valley doesn't end there.

Indeed, while violent crime is down nearly 11 percent across the city from this time last year, it's up 8 percent in North Hollywood, according to Los Angeles Police Department statistics. Crime is down overall in the Valley, but the area historically gets shortchanged in police coverage, and that has not changed.

Declining neighborhoods in the Valley can still be revived, but safe streets are critical, as are well-organized communities, good planning and investment.

City officials need to understand that delivering on their long-overdue promise to NoHo doesn't answer the long-standing neglect of the Valley as a whole.

The Valley has waited too long to get its fair share of City Hall resources and leadership.
Some positive signs are visible. The Orange Line busway is a step in the right direction, as its massive popularity shows. Still, the Valley has paid more than its share of taxes and fees and gotten too little in return.

Now is the time to save the Valley and save the city. It's time to spread the NoHo mojo.