CMCT, a Dallas-based real estate investment trust managed by CIM Group, has paid $51 million to acquire the Rolf K. McPherson building in Echo Park, Keller Williams Commercial announced this week.
The eight-story building, located at 1910 W. Sunset Boulevard, features nearly 100,000 square feet of offices and ground-floor commercial above a parking garage. The mid-rise structure was completed in the mid-1960s, and sits a short walk of both Echo Park Lake and Foursquare Church's landmark Angelus Temple.
"1910 W. Sunset Boulevard has been part of Foursquare Church since the 1960s," said Foursquare Church corporate secretary Adam Davidson in a statement. "As the site of our original headquarters office across from Angelus Temple, the Rolf K. McPherson building has a rich history as one of the most prominent offices in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood."
Foursquare has already relocated its operations from the building.
CMCT intends to invest in upgrades to the property, which will be marketed to entertainment, media, and technology companies.
Westlake LandmarkJLL
Southern California Orthopedic Institute has signed a new lease for 30,000 square feet of office space at the Westlake Landmark, JLL announced this week. The space, which represents an expansion for the organization, will be located at 30870 Russell Ranch Road in Westlake Village.
Here's what we're reading this week:
Column: Can these Black business owners save the heart of Leimert Park from gentrification? "There is a real fear that Leimert Park’s tree-lined streets — where, for generations, Black Angelenos have gone to protest and to celebrate, and to engage in everyday expressions of culture and empowerment — could turn into something bland and expensive....This, West says, is why he has been working so hard. As corporate developers increasingly pick off properties, he wants to put a proverbial stake in the ground for local ownership — and then use it to build more wealth in the neighborhood." (LA Times)
Commentary: L.A.'s promise for safer streets has stalled. But a ballot measure could restart the mobility plan "Tired of lobbying the City Council to abide by the Mobility Plan, several transportation and environmental groups have begun collecting signatures for the 'Healthy Streets LA' ballot measure that would force the city to add the promised bus, bike and pedestrian improvements when streets are repaved. The measure would also require the city to create a website tracking the implementation of the Mobility Plan, providing a level of transparency into the city transportation planning bureaucracy that doesn’t currently exist." (LA Times)
L.A. Planning to Reduce Speed Limits on 177 Miles of City Streets "There will likely be more L.A. City speed limit reductions on the way under additional provisions in A.B. 43. The bill allows municipalities to reduce speeds in 'safety corridors' (to be defined by Caltrans) and business activity districts." (Streetsblog LA)
Payment pain: Homebuyer costs soar 26% in a year "House payments are 47% above the 21st Century's $1,666 average." (LA Daily News)
Some LA Landlords Find 'Gaping Loophole' Around Rent Freeze To Impose Big Increases "...as it came time to discuss renewing the annual lease with her building’s property management company Orion Housing, Kniss was told her new rent would be $2,350 — an increase of $400 per month....She wondered how that could be. Didn’t rent control and COVID protections ban such increases? Kniss was told to read the text of her lease, which states she has been paying a “discounted” rent for the past year, and that her “original” rent has always been about $1,000 higher." (LAist)
LA Is the Third-Largest Startup Ecosystem in the US "Los Angeles is now home to around 3,800 venture-backed companies, according to Telstra, with only the aforementioned Bay Area (approximately 13,000) and New York (approximately 7,500) having larger startup ecosystems. L.A. saw 20% growth, year-on-year, in its number of VC-backed startups last year—outstripping both the Bay Area and New York, but behind faster-growing markets like Miami (44%), Houston (34%) and St. Louis (31%)." (dot LA)
Instagram made Theragun a hit. So why did the massage gun maker just open an L.A. mega-wellness store? "Helping push these offline openings is an Apple software overhaul last year making it easy for users to opt out of internet tracking and harder for apps and advertisers, including your favorite e-commerce merchant, to know consumers’ online shopping and web-browsing habits. Apps now must ask permission to monitor users’ internet activity through pop-up windows, and most iPhone and iPad users are regularly saying no. " (LA Times)
