2 Downtown News
AROUNDTOWN One Wilshire Sells for Record Price
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t may not look like a trophy office building from the outside, but it’s what’s inside that makes One Wilshire the most valuable office property in all of Los Angeles. The 30-story building at Wilshire Boulevard and Grand Avenue is one of the three most important telecommunications data server hubs in the world. That’s why Menlo Park investor GI Partners agreed to pay seller Hines Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. $437.5 million for One Wilshire. The sale represents the highest price per square foot — $660 — ever paid for a Los Angeles County office property. The deal, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, also represents the largest office sale in the county since 2007, when now defunct Maguire Properties paid nearly $3 billion for a package of Downtown and Orange County towers. One Wilshire is currently 94% occupied, primarily by telecommunications entities that value the fact that the building is a major endpoint for fiber-optic cable routes that connect North America and Asia, said broker Kevin Shannon of CB Richard Ellis, who represented GI Partners in the deal. “This is main and main for this industry,” Shannon said. “The fiber connection and connectivity is irreplaceable.”
Metro Wants Regional Connector Lawsuits Dismissed
T
he Metropolitan Transportation Authority is tangled in three separate lawsuits dealing with the $1.37 billion Regional Connector, a crucial regional transit
July 22, 2013
Celebrating 40 Years TAKE MY PICTURE GARY LEONARD
link that has some businesses on edge because of expected construction impacts. Thomas Properties Group, the Westin Bonaventure hotel and Japanese Village Plaza have separately sued Metro, alleging that the project’s Environmental Impact Report is faulty. Metro, however, believes it is exempt from such liability. According to Metro, the California Environmental Quality Act, the law that regulates EIRs, does not apply to “[f]acility extensions not to exceed four miles in length which are required for the transfer of passengers from or to exclusive public mass transit guideway or busway public transit services.” In Metro’s view, the connector, a 1.9-mile underground light rail link, is just such a “facility extension.” The agency conducted an EIR as a voluntary “extra step toward fulfilling the goals of CEQA,” Metro officials said in a statement. Metro, which has resisted Thomas Properties’ and the Bonaventure’s request that the agency tunnel under Flower Street instead of its plan to cut a trench down the street to lay the track, plans to file a motion on July 25 asking the court to dismiss the three lawsuits. It’s uncertain whether or when the judge might rule on the request.
Vegan Café Opens at Medallion
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he food options at the corner of Fourth and Main streets continue to grow. This time, there’s not a burger, or any piece of meat, in sight. Dr. J’s Vibrant Café, a vegan restaurant, is having a grand opening ceremony on July 22 at the $125 million Medallion project from 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. The 100-seat spot serves dishes such as an avocado sandwich, a quinoa spring salad and a Tofu Supreme
Dodger Stadium
On-Field Photo Day
July 13, 2013
bowl, made with tofu, bell peppers and kale. The celebration will include a ribbon cutting at noon and some free food samples. “We’re old-fashioned eat-your-veggies, and you’re going to be healthy,” said co-owner Charles Tien. “We try to stay away from sugar, dairy, wheat, yeast, alcohol, caffeine and other chemicals as strictly as possible.” Dr. J’s is part of a major transformation of the mixed-use complex that opened in 2009. A Simply Salad opened there this year and construction is ongoing for a 1,700-square-foot space for a second location of upscale sushi purveyor Sushi Zo. Dr. J’s Vibrant Café is open seven days a week from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 334 S. Main St., (213) 5370905 or drjsvibrantcafe.com.
Homes for Artists
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n effort to help artists find affordable homes for artists in the Arts District got
a boost from the National Endowment of the Arts. Last week the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs received $75,000 from the NEA that will go towards a pilot program in the Arts District that will help keep artists informed on how to find affordable housing in the area and will reach out to developers to connect them to artists as potential future tenants. “This project will ensure that a thriving artists’ community remains a permanent part of the Arts District,” said Councilman José Huizar in a statement. The pilot program will include a series of workshops aimed at both developers and artist as well as a website that will provide information to artists about financial qualifications and existing affordable housing in the area, said Olga Garay-English, general manager of the Department of Cultural Affairs. She said the pilot program, which will start see Around Town, page 24
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Find out at the landmark location near Downtown. Home of the original Chili-burger. Quality and value since 1946:
Chili Hamburger .............. $2.15 Chili Cheeseburger ........... $2.65
tax included
607 South Hill Street, Suite 204, Los Angeles, CA 90014 t 213.892.0772 | www.singlestone.com
Single Stone on Mission Street 2527 Mission Street, San Marino, CA 91108 t 626.799.3109 | www.singlestonemissionstreet.com
Many Imitate, But None Compare!