Residential Real Estate Firm Douglas Elliman Expands to Los Angeles

9440 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills

The Los Angeles real estate boom is attracting not only global buyers but real estate brokerages eager to get in on the market as well. Douglas Elliman Real Estate has announced its entrance into the Southern California market with plans to open offices in Beverly Hills by mid-March of this year.

The company is the largest residential brokerage firm in New York, with offices throughout New York City, Long Island, the Hamptons and South Florida. In total, more than 4,000 real estate agents work for the firm.

Elliman will launch its L.A. operations from 2,500-square-foot offices at 9440 Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Plans also include the rollout of additional Westside offices by the end of 2014.

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Real estate agents Tom Dunlap, who worked most recently as manager and executive vice president of John Aaroe Group, and Cory Weiss, who worked as a partner and director of Partner’s Trust, will head the office.  

“This company knows their clients and knows what type of agents they want and aren’t rushing this,” said Weiss, who is known for selling some of L.A.’s most architecturally significant homes, including landmark properties designed by John Lautner, Rudolph Schindler, Ray Kappe and Paul Williams.

And even though the offices have yet to open, the company already is trading in top-tier homes. "We have a major sale already under contract and an upcoming listing of one of L.A.’s most iconic architecturally significant houses," Weiss said.

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Harrison Ford's Son Willard Lists Kim Sing Theatre for $4.5 Million

Willard Ford is selling the Kim Sing Theatre space that he has owned since 1999. Ford, the son of Harrison Ford, is one of the pioneers of downtown’s Chinatown renaissance and is listing  the 10,000-square-foot mixed-use space for $4.5 million.

The former vaudeville house and movie theater was built in 1926 and redesigned by Ford, working in conjunction with XTen Architects. Changes to the site including cutting out the middle of the building to make an internal courtyard, and creating a three-tiered floor where it once sloped for theater seating. The original cinema marquee is intact.

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Over the 15 years that has Ford occupied the building, he has used it as a residence, a furniture and fashion showroom, and an event space.

"We have done launch events for BMW, Nike as well as corporate events for the Grammys, Pepsi and Star Wars in this place. It's great for all of that," he says. Flagship, Ford's sales and marketing agency for design, apparel and brands, will most likely relocate to downtown's Fashion District, he adds.

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David Kean of Teles Properties holds the listing and says that the unique Chinatown property will most likely go to an owner/user. "This is the perfect place for someone in entertainment; either an actor who wants a downtown base or a musician who could have a full recording studio here."

A recent uptick in Chinatown development, including large-scale residential projects such as Forrest City Development's $95 million Blossom Plaza, will add 250 rental units and 20,000 square feet of retail and residential space.

"A myriad of new hip shops, galleries and restaurants are starting to make their mark on the Chinatown historic streetscape," says Kean. "The first domino has fallen; more construction and growth is certain to follow."

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SBE to Occupy Variety's Wilshire Blvd. Offices

SBE, founded by nightlife and hotel impresario Sam Nazarian, will lease the top two floors of 5900 Wilshire, reports the Los Angeles Times, leaving its current offices near Beverly Blvd. and Fairfax, and moving into the Variety space. The trade magazine’s sign, which was removed last November from the top of the building, will be replaced with an SBE sign by spring.

Nazarian and his 100 employees will be in good company in their new 30,000-square-foot digs: Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute and Millennium Entertainment also have offices in the William J. Pereira-designed, 31-story building, which is located across the street from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (Pereira designed that original campus as well.)

SBE, which operates hotels, restaurants and nightclubs such as SLS, Katsuya and Hyde, is planning a second SLS hotel in Los Angeles in the Grand Ave. development on Bunker Hill.

Variety will relocate to Penske’s corporate headquarters in Westwood.

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