Re column/garcia/25″/mike1st/mark2nd By SHELLY GARCIA Staff Reporter Speculative office construction has come to a halt in some parts of the San Fernando Valley, but that’s not stopping one particular developer from moving forward with such a project in Westlake Village. Investment Development Services has begun construction on its Westlake North Business Park, a 327,474-square-foot office campus at the Lindero Canyon Road exit off the Ventura (101) Freeway. IDS plans to build its office park in two stages, with the first building scheduled for completion in February 2000. The other two buildings are scheduled to be completed by April. “The market is very tight, with a vacancy of less than 8 percent,” said David Saeta, principal of IDS, which has about 4 million square feet of space currently under development. “The market demand is there.” Westlake Village, located along the hot 101 Corridor, has been attracting a number of high-tech companies. But the city has few facilities able to accommodate large users of space, Saeta said. Westlake North’s two-story, campus-style buildings will provide up to 67,000 square feet of contiguous space. In addition, the buildings are designed to accommodate fiber-optic lines and backup generators, features often crucial for high-tech companies. “If you find a user looking for 20,000 square feet or more, there’s only two options within the Westlake Village market right now,” Saeta said. “So we think it’s the right location with the right amenities and the right product and that’s why our financial partners and ourselves are very confident.” Monthly asking lease rates will run about $2.15 a square foot, considerably higher than the average of $2.04 for class-A space in the Conejo Valley and about on par with current Warner Center rates. But Saeta points out that, unlike Warner Center, his project is offering free parking four spots per 1,000 square feet of office space leased. Considering that, plus the fact that Westlake Village has no gross receipts or business license taxes (like L.A., where Warner Center is located), he estimates his business park will have a cost advantage between 25 cents and 50 cents a square foot over Warner Center. Jim Lindvall and Tom Festa at Grubb & Ellis Co. are the leasing agents. Building sale Genesis Intermedia.com Inc. has purchased the Hewlett Packard building at 5805 Sepulveda Blvd. in Van Nuys for $11 million. Genesis, which is currently based in Studio City, will occupy about 60 percent of the 87,000-square-foot building. Ron Feder of R.J. Feder & Associates, along with Trevor Belden and John Battle at Lee & Associates, represented the seller, Sepulveda Hatteras Ltd. Stacy Vierhelig-Fraser of Charles Dunn Co. represented the buyer. The eight-story building is currently occupied by Hewlett Packard and Imperial Bank. Strip center sale EMH Properties sold a 14,400-square-foot retail shopping center at 23000 Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills for $1.4 million. The buyer was Silver Investments LLC, which owns and manages retail and office properties throughout Los Angeles. J. Richard Leyner, Cal Menzer and Zina Jacobson of Capital Commercial/NAI, represented EMH. Michael Harris of Fred Sands Realty represented the buyer. Tech transaction MRV Communications, a maker of high-speed optical network components and systems, has leased a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at the Nordhoff Industrial Complex in Chatsworth. The company, which occupies four other buildings in Chatsworth, plans to take occupancy this month. Scott Caswell of Delphi Business Properties represented both MRV and Katell Properties, the owner and developer of the Nordhoff Industrial Complex. Westlake Village office deal Mitsui sold the Westlake Plaza Center at 2801 Townsgate Road to Sagamore Equities for $17.6 million. GTE is the main tenant in the 118,000-square-foot building, said Bob Safai of Madison Partners, who represented the buyer along with Lynwood Fields. Mike VanderLey, chief financial officer for Sagamore, said the company is looking to acquire six to eight additional buildings in the L.A. area over the next 12 to 15 months. “We are extremely excited about the Westlake Village market,” VanderLey said. Office sale An investment group has purchased a four-story building at 20335 Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills for $5.8 million. Chalk Hill LLC acquired the 57,661-square-foot office building as an investment, according to Brian Forster of TOLD Partners, who represented the company in the purchase. Richard Plummer and Steve Algermissen of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the seller, John Hancock Mutual Life. The building, which has undergone a $2 million renovation, is currently 70 percent occupied. Civic Center underway Groundbreaking on the new Civic Center in Van Nuys is due to begin in January, now that the Los Angeles City Council has given the nod to the project. The building, which is to be called the Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center, is designed to include 132,500 square feet of office space with 9,500 square feet of retail use on the first floor. Agencies targeted to have operations in the center include the City Attorney, Building & Safety, Transportation, City Clerk and others. The center, budgeted to cost $34 million, will be financed with city bonds. According to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, the city will save $346,000 a year in lease payments by consolidating the government offices into the new center. The Voit Cos., which is developing the center, expects to complete the project in the second quarter of 2001. Another copy Calabasas has a new Kinko’s photocopy center. Ventura-based Kinko’s Office Services, the business services retailer, opened the 5,000-square-foot store in the El Camino Shopping Center at Mulholland Drive and the Ventura (101) Freeway. The 10-year-lease is valued at $1.06 million. Michael Schiff of Grubb & Ellis represented the landlord, Regency Realty Corp. of Jacksonville, Fla. Chuck Kutschko of Jackson Commercial represented Kinko’s.