By Roger Vincent
7:25 AM PDT, August 26, 2013
A ground-floor condominium at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street intended to house shops and restaurants has been sold to a San Diego real estate investor as the neighborhood around the famed Hollywood intersection attracts more growth.
HP Investors bought the 10,800-square-foot condo in the Broadway Lofts, a former department store turned residential building, from Beverly Hills investment firm Kennedy Wilson.
The anchor tenant of the condo is Katsuya, one of a chain of upscale sushi restaurants operated by SBE, a Los Angeles hospitality, real estate and entertainment company founded by nightclub impresario Sam Nazarian.
The condo also has vacant spaces being marketed for lease, Kennedy Wilson’s broker Lee Shapiro said. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The Broadway Lofts building opened in 1927 as Dyas department store and later became a branch of the Broadway department store chain. In 2008 the upper floors were converted to 96 residential condos, some of which are three stories high.
Other new buildings around the intersection include the Redbury Hotel and a W Hotel complex that also has condos, apartments, shops and restaurants.
Work is underway nearby on former parking lots next to the Pantages Theater, where more than 500 apartments are being built in four buildings. The BLVD 6200 complex will have 74,000 square feet of retail space for shops and restaurants, and underground parking for 1,300 cars.
“The location is one of the most dynamic urban retail markets in Southern California,” said Sumeet Parekh of HP Investors, “and perfectly meets our investment objectives of acquiring urban retail assets that are positioned for strong growth over the long-term.”
Last month, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan by New York-based developer Millennium Partners to build two skyscrapers and more than 1 million square feet of office, hotel and retail space on several vacant parking lots surrounding the iconic Capitol Records building.
The $664-million complex called Hollywood Millennium would be north of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine and include two towers that would be 35 and 39 stories tall.