A nine-story mixed-use building in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ fashion district recently hit the market with an asking price of $11.9 million, or approximately $288 per square foot. According to an offering memorandum obtained by The Registry, the building is being listed by Commercial Peak and is an excellent candidate for the City’s Adaptive Reuse program.
Located at 752 S. Los Angeles Street, the property, also called the R.S. Building, comprises 46,709 square feet on approximately 0.12 acres. The building was first constructed in 1913 and was last purchased by Gill Family Properties for an undisclosed amount, according to public records.
Currently, the property consists of two open-concept spaces per floor, with upgrades including refinished exposed concrete flooring, renovated restrooms, upgraded elevators, upgraded windows and more. Additionally, two local retail tenants occupy space on the ground floor level, both on month-to-month leases.
According to the offering memorandum, the building is currently entitled for a 53-unit multi-family project. However, the space could also be redeveloped into various other uses through the City of Los Angeles’ Adaptive Reuse Program. The program works by streamlining the process developers must follow to get their projects approved, and would allow the conversion of the building into residential space, hospitality or creative office space.
“With open layout floor plans on each level, and tremendous CapEx already completed including brand-new heating and air units, bathrooms & showers on each level, upgraded electrical and wiring, refinished concrete flooring, and more, the property provides with ultimate flexibility as a redevelopment in one of DTLA’s most sought after locations,” the offering memorandum states.
In general, Downtown Los Angeles has seen many residential, retail and office developments built over the last several years. According to the offering memorandum, at the end of 2018, there were almost three million square feet of office space, 1.1 million square feet of retail space and 1,271 hotel rooms under construction in Downtown Los Angeles. Currently proposed projects would add almost 9,500 more hotel rooms, 2.6 million square feet of additional retail space and another 3.3 million square feet of office space.
Nearby the property are several of these development projects, including the Fabric DTLA project. Located adjacent to the property at 755 S. Los Angeles, Fabric DTLA will consist of 16,000 square feet of retail space, 10,000 square feet of restaurant space and creative office space. The property is also immediately adjacent to the Santee Passage Food Hall, a new 20,000 square-foot food hall, at 700 S. Los Angeles Street. Set to be completed in September, the property is also near the future 1.8 million square-foot California Market Center.
With the increase in developments, Downtown Los Angeles’ population has more than tripled in the past century. According to the offering memorandum, The population has tripled from 18,000 to more than 70,000 residents, with weekday numbers nearing 500,000 people.
“That rise can be seen in all sectors of the Downtown market in the dynamic diversification of the office sector with its expanding ecosystem of tech and creative companies; in the residential sector, with its explosive growth, impressive demographics and strong community spirit; in the hospitality and tourism sector with its diverse mix of new hotels serving a dramatically increasing number of visitors – both tourists and business travelers; and in the cultural sector with its world-class collection of arts and educational institutions and broad array of sports and entertainment offerings,” the offering memorandum states.
Commercial Peak did not respond in time to comment on this story.
