LOS ANGELES-Murdock Plaza, a 17-story, 228,540-sf office tower on Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of Westwood, has changed hands for $130 million or $569 per sf. Sumitomo Life Realty Inc. of New York sells the 94%-occupied building to Wilshire Westwood Plaza LLC, a private Los Angeles investment group. The land beneath the building continues to be owned by two local private trusts.
Situated at the intersection of Wilshire and Westwood boulevards, the circa-1980 brick-skinned building was developed by billionaire investor David Murdock of Dole Foods, who still keeps an office in the building. Designed by Langdon Wilson, the building is well known as the home of the prestigious Regency Club, which occupies the top two floors, and many of its members.
The building's tenants include Eli Broad and the Broad Foundation; Castle & Cooke; Mapleton Investments; former Mayor Richard Riordan/the Riordan Foundation and Riordan, Lewis & Haden; Wachovia Securities; Spyglass Entertainment; the executive search firm Spencer Stuart; Radar Pictures; Union Bank; and Comerica Bank.
The lead listing broker, Cushman & Wakefield managing director Marc D. Renard, says the building's reputation and prestige generated worldwide interest from investors. While the people behind the acquisition entity were not identified by C&W, local industry sources tell GlobeSt.com it includes businessman Kambiz Hekmat. Hekmat owns Center West, a 22-story building located adjacent to Murdock Plaza. He could not be reached Thursday afternoon for comment.
Local brokers speculate that the new owner will renovate the property and raise rents as leases roll. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the average office rent in Westwood now stands at $4.35 per sf per month, up nearly 40% from this time last year. Renard was assisted in the disposition of the property by fellow C&W brokers Anthony Gatti and Carl Muhlstein.
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