The search is on for tenants who fit the high profile
DOWNTOWN — Movie producers and serious entrepreneurial types are the types of tenants likely to occupy some of the finest commercial real estate in Santa Monica.
The renovated art deco clock tower building at 225 Santa Monica Blvd. is available for commercial leasing, but the line to get in is exclusive due to the unique floor plans and views, say Santa Monica realtors familiar with the project.
“Our tenants are people looking for an emotional space they can go into, not looking to save every nickel,” said Michael Preiss, a Klabin Co. realtor who is leasing office space at the clock tower building. “These are people who want to walk into their office and say, ‘Wow, this is where I want to be, and those types are generally extremely special.”
The 12-story clock tower building has 4,000 square feet of rental space on each of its 12 floors, with a basement that has an additional 10,000 square feet, for a total square footage of 58,000 square feet, Preiss said. The ground floor is to be occupied by a high-end retail store while the remaining 11 floors above — with circular views of the city, oceans and mountains — are to be occupied by offices.
Rafael Padilla, an agent with Par Commercial, which is responsible for filling the ground floor with retailers, said some businesses have made inquiries but no offers have been accepted.
“We’re looking for the right fit,” Padilla said. “Something high-end, not a convenience store or souvenir shop for space like this.”
Preiss said tenants occupying office space will have the entire floor to themselves, a luxury few commercial sites in Santa Monica can match. Tenants will have valet parking and will be able to access their office floor by a lobby elevator.
Depending on the office’s height and contract options, Preiss said leasing rates range between $3 per square foot on the bottom floor to $4.15 per square foot on the 12th floor, which translates into between $144,000 and $199,200 per year. So far, six of the 11 floors have been leased, with two more pending, Preiss said. Leasing agents wouldn’t disclose who the building’s tenants are.
Santa Monica commercial realtors said those rates, however unusual for Santa Monica, are expected given the unique type of space being offered.
“I only know of a few buildings in Santa Monica that go up to the $4 level, but this building is also kind of a unique situation, when you consider the height, the views and the full floors,” Vince Muselli, a commercial realtor in Santa Monica.
Other realtors also said the rates were reasonable for the unique accommodations and there seems to be demand for the space.
Kevin Green, the clock tower building’s owner and managing partner, said he bought the clock tower building in 2001 for a price he was unwilling to disclose. Preiss said Green recently purchased a 37,000-square-foot building on Arizona Avenue for $20 million.
Green said the clock tower building’s renovation cost $8 million.
“It was a fixer upper,” Green said. “It was not in top commercial condition.”
Green said the clock tower building, constructed in 1929, needed to become code compliant and brought up to current city standards, particuarly because of the extensive damage it received from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The bathrooms were made accessible to the disabled. Other renovations include a new electrical, fire safety and plumbing system. The elevator was re-vamped, as well as the lobby and floors, which are granite, to preserve the building’s architectural integrity.
“There was a variety of work we had to do, while restoring the building to its classic art deco style,” Green said.
One of the first big projects undertaken on the renovated clock tower building was fixing the clock itself.
“For years the clock was stuck at 4:28,” Green said. “Around the time when the Northridge Earthquake happened.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 25, 2005. Read the original PDF.