LOS ANGELES-Avon Studio Transportation, an entertainment transportation service, has acquired a 1.29-acre lot at 956 Seward Street in Hollywood, GlobeSt.com reports exclusively. Commercial real estate services firm Avision Young located and negotiated the deal on behalf of Avon Studio for an undisclosed price; however, Avision Young principal Martin McDermott tells GlobeSt.com, “This is the lowest-priced land deal in the Hollywood district for this level of density.”
The property, which had formerly been owned by Editing Film Center and BENHAR Company since 1952, includes a 41,000-square-foot film vault that Avon Studio intends to continue operating. The property was also entitled for a five-story office development at the time of the sale; however, Avon Studio will not pursue the development.
“This is more than a parking lot for Avon. It provides income from the film vault and the storage facility,” says McDermott, who worked with Avon Studio for several years to locate land that could be underwritten as a parking lot—which he found very difficult. “Developers had driven up land prices that outstripped the ability for use as a parking lot. Like all owner-users, the business drives the real estate they need. Avon was able to get this property at a time when it could be underwritten for what they needed, which was a parking lot.”
McDermott closed the deal with an SBA loan at an interest rate under 4%, and for an undisclosed price that was approximately $100 per-square-foot lower than similar lots Avon Studio considered earlier.
In terms of functionality, the property is ideal for Avon Studio's needs. It is in the Hollywood Media district and the “land was purposed for trucks,” McDermott explains. The property is nearby several film and production studios that Avon services.
Avon Studio's move to the Hollywood submarket is indicative of a growing trend of business returning to Hollywood, and Avon was fortunate to acquire a property that met its operational needs at such a low price. “We got the last good deal in terms of price-per-square-foot on land,” says McDermott, who agrees that Hollywood is a rapidly growing submarket. “Developers have been back for the last two years, actively pursuing the purchase of land to develop, and there is good reason. There are good demographics on all sides of Hollywood, and people want to be there. You're not going to recognize Hollywood in 10 years. The amount of buildings that are already planned, that are currently coming out of the ground and the will likely come out of the ground is going to be game changing.”
Avision Young is a nationally growing commercial real estate services firm. Earlier this year, the firm opened a new office in Miami with eight brokers from Flagler. Within 6 months, the firm had doubled its property management portfolio, as reported by GlobeSt.com.
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Kelsi Maree Borland
