LOS ANGELES-A tall building with a checkered past has been sold by the CIM Group. The Sunset Vine Tower, which was once abandoned after a fire and nearly destroyed by vandals before being restored as a 64-residence luxury apartment building, has now changed hands for an undisclosed price to new owners that have not been identified.
The CIM Group declined further comment but indicated the building has been close to 100% leased since opening in 2010. The Tower sits on the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Vine St., an area that will soon undergo a massive transformation from low density to high-rise mixed-use, thanks to the planned Millennium Hollywood and Columbia Square projects, among other development projects nearby.
Sunset Vine Tower's past reads like a Hollywood script, with success followed by a fall from glory, then a triumphant return.
In 2001, an electrical transformer in the building exploded, sending the employees of the 40 companies occupying the building dashing for their lives. The explosion knocked out the building's first alarm system, so city officials barred re-entry into the building. As a consequence, business files, personal property and office equipment sat unclaimed.
Vandals soon filled the void, trashing offices and stealing equipment and personal effects. One published report quoted neighbors calling it “the world's biggest crack house,” and soon a fence sealed off the tower and its surrounding area.
The nightmare continued for tenants. City officials refused to allow an electrical generator to be deployed to operate the elevators. Thus, movers had to be hired to remove salvageable equipment, resulting in hefty bills for upper-floor tenants.
The building's owner, beset by the damage, did not make repairs and was then forced into bankruptcy, leaving tenants who claimed damages from their dispossession stuck without recourse.
The CIM Group acquired the building from the bankrupt ownership entity in 2003. It eventually gutted the building and converted it into luxury rental units, a risky proposition for a Hollywood neighborhood that, at the time, had more blight than bling.
The building was stripped down to its structural steel, hazardous materials were abated, and a sleek glass curtain wall was created to afford floor to ceiling windows for the new building.
The renovated Sunset Vine Tower was reopened in 2010 and now has no more than four residences per floor, with each residence occupying least one corner of the building. The top four floors have just two units each. CIM converted the ground floor space along Sunset Blvd. and Vine St. into restaurants. Currently, the space along Sunset is occupied by Tender Greens, the Melt, and Go Burger. On Vine St., CIM leased retail space to Chipotle.
As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, the CIM Group is also expanding its San Francisco holdings.
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