(credit: City Planning)

Nearly 1,400 units were stripped from the Los Angeles housing market last year under the Ellis Act, marking a 27 percent increase from 2015 figures, according to findings from the Coalition for Economic Survival.

Property owners were able to evict tenants of 1,372 units because the Ellis Act permits them to do so if they plan to demolish their buildings or exit the rental market altogether, Curbed reported.

The number of evictions has risen dramatically since 2009. Between 2013 and 2014, for instance, the the number rose from 308 evictions from rent-controlled apartments to 725.

City officials could better protect renters by discouraging the demolition or conversion of rent-controlled units, according to Larry Gross, the executive director of the Coalition. They could also give developers incentives to build affordable housing on city-owned plots.

The state could also take action by eliminating the law or amending it so that building owners must wait five years after buying a piece of property before evicting the tenants, Gross added. [Curbed] — Cathaleen Chen

Josh and Matt Altman

“Million Dollar Listing” stars Josh and Matt Altman took home the top California spot at this year’s Douglas Elliman awards, hosted at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall Thursday night.

The Altmans were the first household names to join Elliman on the West Coast. They jumped to the firm from Hilton & Hyland in 2015, two years after the company’s launch in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, New York’s Lauren Muss, a 14-year veteran of the Corcoran Group agent who jumped to Elliman in the fall of 2014, topped the leaderboard in the company’s hometown with more commissions than any other single agent in 2016.

Lauren Muss, John Gomes and Fredrik Eklund (Credit: BFA.com)

Muss beat out competitors Kirk Rundhaug and Joan Swift to take home top honors. Rundhaug and Swift came in second and third place in the individual agent category, respectively.

The Eklund/Gomes Team, led by “Million Dollar Listing New York” star Fredrik Eklund and his partner John Gomes, took the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. The Holly Parker team and the the Raphael De Niro team came in at second and third, respectively.

The awards are based on gross commissions.

Overall, Elliman said it did $24.6 billion in total sales volume nationwide in 2016, a 10 percent increase from 2015. Approximately $14 billion of that figure was done in New York, compared to $12.7 billion in 2015. Its overall revenue jumped 6 percent to $675.3 million.

The ceremony once again included a performance by the Radio City Rockettes.

Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin and a rendering of the One Beverly Hills project at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard (Credit: Getty, Richard Meier Architects)

The owners of Dick Clark Productions have scrapped a $1 billion deal to sell the the company to China’s Wanda Group after a month in escrow, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Eldridge Industries, the company that controls Dick Clark, announced Friday that it called off the agreement because Wanda “failed to honor its contractual obligations.”

A number of factors may have contributed to the failure of the deal, including the Chinese government’s crackdown on the outward flow of Chinese capital as well as Wanda’s internal concern that the $1 billion price tag was too high.

Guggenheim Partners, in a group with other investors, bought the production company for $380 million four years ago.

President Donald Trump’s protectionist rhetoric hasn’t helped either, since it’s put Chinese dealmaking in the U.S. under the microscope, the Times reported.

Beijing-based Wanda, which owns AMC Theatres, gained City Council approval late November for its $1.2 billion One Beverly Hills condo and hotel project. [LAT] — Cathaleen Chen

Sunset Boulevard mansion (The Agency)

The French Country estate of Rockstar Energy Drink creator Russ Weiner has been amped up and is now ready for a buyer.

Weiner initially purchased the home — once owned by Madonna — for himself two years ago but never moved in to it. Instead, he expanded the property and put it on the market for almost double what he paid, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 12,100-square-foot property on Sunset Boulevard features seven bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and kitchen cabinets that can be opened by remote control. It also has two guesthouses and a 60-foot-long outdoor swimming pool, according to the listing.

Weiner purchased the home in 2015 for $19 million, according to property records.

Katelyn Byrd and Mauricio Umansky of the Agency have the listing.

Weiner is a “collector” of homes and real estate has “always been a passion of his,”
Umansky told the Journal.

Weiner owns a home in Delray Beach, Florida, and paid $20 million in cash for a waterfront property in Miami Beach last year.

He launched Rockstar in the early 2000s and is the son of Michael Weiner, known as conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage. [WSJ] — Subrina Hudson

From left: Maren Kasper, Donald Trump and Ben Carson (Credit: Getty Images)

From the New York website: When Fannie Mae agreed to back $1 billion in single-family rental debt from Blackstone Group’s Invitation Homes, the National Association of Realtors didn’t take it very well.

“These investors do not expand the affordable housing stock,” NAR President William Brown wrote to Federal Housing Finance Agency director Mel Watt in January. “Rather, in this limited market they drive up the price of rents and remove affordable inventory from the hands of American homeowners.”

Now, the group that advocates for homeownership may have another reason to keep writing letters.

Earlier this week, ProPublica published a list of more than 400 Trump administration officials working across the federal government’s major departments. The list includes a number of officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, such as its “Senior White House Advisor,” Maren Kasper. Kasper most recently served as a director at Roofstock, an Oakland-based investment platform for single-family rental homes. Its CEO Gary Beasley has described the firm as an E-Trade for real estate.

Roofstock launched a year ago and offers investors opportunities to buy single-family homes in seven states. Its list of prominent investors includes Bain Capital Ventures, StubHub co-founder Jeff Fluhr and Salesforce founder Marc Benioff. To provide its buyers with financing, Roofstock partners with lenders like Colony American Finance, a company founded by Trump confidante, campaign adviser and inauguration committee head Tom Barrack, whose single-family home giant Colony American Homes merged with Starwood’s Waypoint Residential Trust last year, creating a REIT with more than 30,000 homes under ownership.

Before moving to Roofstock, Kasper worked at the home-flipping and single-family rental lender Dwell Finance, which is owned by B2R (which is currently owned by a Blackstone fund). According to a page on the NYU Stern School of Business’ website, she founded the elderly-focused, single-family rental service HoneyCo Homes.

Request for comment directed at a spokesperson for the White House was redirected to the White House press office, which did not respond. Gary Beasley, the CEO of Roofstock, also did not respond to a request for comment, nor did a representative for Barrack. A spokesperson for HUD confirmed that Kasper is working as a senior adviser, but declined further comment.

According to Politico, department-focused advisers are expected to maintain constant contact between the White House and their respective departments of focus, and duties will include signing off on major decisions.

Having one of their own at the White House could be a shot in the arm for the single-family rental industry. Greg Rand, the CEO of OwnAmerica, a brokerage for single-family rental investors, told The Real Deal he was excited to learn of the appointment. Rand is hopeful that the Federal Housing Administration under HUD Secretary Ben Carson will move to make low-rate, multifamily FHA loans available to single-family rental investors.

“That would be a gangbusters benefit to the creation of more rental stock,” Rand said, adding that appointing someone like Kasper was “an indicator” that things are looking up for the industry. He described the opposition single-family rental investment has faced from homeowner groups as “shortsighted.”

After the financial crisis, small and large investors alike saw an opportunity in a single-family housing market crippled by foreclosure. Companies like Blackstone’s Invitation Homes began buying-up single-family homes nationwide and in 2013, purchased 1,400 Atlanta homes in a single day. Invitation Homes announced an initial public offering in December. A number of big players in the industry have clout with the current administration. Jonathan Gray, Blackstone’s global head of real estate, was being considered for the position of treasury secretary and met Trump shortly after the election. Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s ultimate pick, has been accused of skirting federal rules while foreclosing on thousands of homeowners during his tenure as chairman of OneWest Bank.

Following Fannie Mae’s single-family rental deal with Blackstone, Freddie Mac is also considering backing such loans, sources told Bloomberg this week.

Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank, has proposed more favorable financing options for single-family rental investment as a way to bolster affordable housing nationwide. In a 2015 report, its researchers advised allowing single-family investors access to HUD multifamily loan programs as well as the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC). The report also suggested a name change for the single-family rental industry: “multisite multifamily”

Yard signs against Measure S (Getty Images)

The party seems to be winding down for those who fought Measure S, the anti-development initiative voters swiftly rejected this week.

Developers are now proceeding with caution, aware that the ballot measure exposed widespread anti-development sentiment and a mistrust of the planning process in Los Angeles. 

Many developers say they’re taking the hint and will not be going on any building sprees in celebration of its defeat, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Kevin Farrell, chief operating officer of Century West Partners, told the L.A. Times the ballot measure reminded the development firm to move carefully.

Other firms echoed the same sentiment, saying they’d scrutinize potential deals and make sure it had support from community members and City Council ahead of time.

Mark Tarczynski of Colliers International said Measure S was too far-reaching but showed how important it was for city officials to update zoning codes.

City Council made plans just prior to the election to have its codes updated by 2024.

“Nothing is better for us than having a fully vetted community plan that’s been through the war and everyone’s weighed in,” Farrell said to the Times. “That is all we can ask. We don’t go in and buy a site to pick a fight.” [LAT] — Subrina Hudson

From left: CIC Chairman Ding Xuedong and Airbnb founders Nathan Blecharczyk, Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky (Credit: Getty Images)

From the New York website: China’s sovereign wealth fund bought a stake in Airbnb through its latest funding round, which valued the home-sharing startup at $31 billion.

The state-backed China Investment Corporation contributed 10 percent to the latest $1 billion funding round, according to a filing with U.S. securities regulators cited by Sky News.

CIC, which owns stakes in companies such as Heathrow Airport Holdings and London’s private Thames Water utility, is one of 40 investors in the San Francisco company’s latest round.

Airbnb turned a profit for the first time in fall of 2016, and in the company was reportedly in advanced talks to buy its largest Chinese rival, Xiaozhu.com.

CIC’s investment is seen as evidence of the strategic importance the Chinese market plays for technology companies such as Airbnb. The latest funding round suggests the startup is likely to pursue an initial public offering sometime in the near future.

In 2016, CIC was active in New York City real estate, with purchases of minority stakes in the trophy office towers 1221 Sixth Avenue in Midtown and 1 New York Plaza in the Financial District.

Airbnb is reportedly considering getting into the long-term rental business. [Sky] – Rich Bockmann

A rendering of the Casden West LA project

San Francisco-based Carmel Partners snapped up a West Los Angeles development site for $49.5 million from a real estate investment firm headed by Beverly Hills developer Alan Casden, according to Real Capital Analytics.

Casden acquired the site, at 11122 W. Pico Boulevard, for $42 million in 2007, and planned to build a 595-unit multifamily complex with 15,000 square feet of commercial space.

The project faced opposition from neighbors who worried about increased traffic in the neighborhood. They accused him of illegally using property owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to calculate the development’s potential size. Plans to include a supermarket and a Target at the project were nixed.

Ron Zeff

Last April, a longtime cement plant on the still-vacant site, which is next to an Expo Line light rail station, was demolished, paving the way for the project to proceed.

Casden Properties declined to comment on the sale, saying simply that the developer was no longer involved with the site.

A spokesperson for Carmel, headed by Ron Zeff, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on plans for the property.

Carmel recently completed another mammoth multifamily project, known as Eighth & Grand, in Downtown L.A. The property, which sits on three acres of land at 770 South Grand Avenue, has 700 units in total and in anchored by Downtown’s first Whole Foods.

TRD LA’s January issue

The Real Deal, the number one source for real estate industry news, launched in Los Angeles last year, with our first print edition released in September, and our second in January.

We are now pleased to announce that our next print magazine is almost here! It will be published in April, for your Spring Break brush-up on market trends, controversy and analysis.

The issue will feature a deep dive into Downtown’s retail market; a look at L.A.’s top real estate families; a ranking of top brokers and an analysis of residential development trends. We will reach just outside of L.A. to give readers a Southern California market snapshot, with a focus on sunny Palm Springs.

See the January edition as it appears in print here.

To subscribe to the magazine, obtain a media kit — and for all advertising inquiries — please call Frank Morales at (310) 270-8124 or contact fm@therealdeal.com. The final deadline for advertising is March 28.

Illuminated Venice sign at Venice Beach (Credit: Getty)

Venice activists are calling on local residents to pull any support for their controversial, newly publicly-traded neighbor, Snap, Inc.

Backers of the newly formed Alliance for the Preservation of Venice are asking residents to delete the company’s popular messaging app Snapchat and refrain from buying its stock. While its three founders are now billionaires from the IPO, Venice residents are seeing their rents and home prices double and triple, the Alliance says.

Snap owns more than a dozen boardwalk properties, which comprise its global headquarters.

“Seventeen storefront properties have been converted from colorful stores or homes, into cold office property,” one member of the Alliance told the Santa Monica Observer. “No one outside of Snap Inc. even knows what goes on inside them. Security guards now turn shoppers and locals like you and me, away from the entrances.”

Another protestor agreed: “They won’t be transparent with them about what their plans are with all these properties,” he said. “It’s one thing if it’s artists and developers turning properties into lofts. But this is one company single handedly screwing up the community and forcing mom and pops and residents out of their homes and businesses.”

Median home prices in Venice nearly doubled between 2012 and the end of 2016, making the neighborhood the third fastest growing submarket in L.A., according to data from Zillow.

Meanwhile, shares of Snap have fallen about 10 percent from their highest post-IPO levels. Many analysts predict they will drop to even lower levels, MarketWatch reported.

“Snap only made a few people a lot of money,” Ross Gerber, CEO of a Venice-based investment firm, told MarketWatch. “Snap has no path to profitability at all.” [SMO] [MarketWatch] — Cathaleen Chen

Markus Persson’s $70 million spec house

When spec home builder Bruce Makowsky unveiled an $85 million mansion on N. Hillcrest Drive in the Trousdale Estates area of Beverly Hills in 2014, industry insiders raised eyebrows. Sure, the cul-de-sac was a high-end enclave, but it had never commanded the jaw-dropping prices seen on the Bird Streets or Beverly Park.

But Makowsky timed his gamble just right. Just months after he listed the property, Markus “Notch” Persson, a Swedish video game designer responsible for hooking hundreds of millions to ‘Minecraft’, sold his company Mojang to Microsoft for $2.5 billion. That kind of newly-minted wealth needs an outlet to express itself, and Persson found it in Makowsky’s manse. He closed on the property, at 1181 N. Hillcrest, in 2014 for $70 million.

That deal opened the floodgates. Sellers and developers in the areas tried to out-do one another with product and price. Last month, spec home developer Nile Niami listed a new luxury home at 1175 N. Hillcrest for $100 million.

“What was once a $10 million or $20 million street is now a $50 million or $100 million street,” said one broker whose client is eying a property on Hillcrest.

Read on for a closer look at the motley crew of business moguls, foreign dignitaries and party boys trying to turn Hillcrest into the new Billionaires’ Road of the Hollywood Hills.

1175 N. Hillcrest Road
Nile Niami’s $100 million spec home, dubbed the “Opus,” spans 20,500 square feet, with seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. He’s throwing in a handful of headline-grabbing extras: A gold Lamborghini Aventador and a gold Rolls-Royce Dawn; 170 bottles of Cristal; $2 million in artwork and a full-time property manager, whose salary will be pre-paid for two years. Niami, the former movie producer who’s in the midst of what’s expected to be a pricey divorce, acquired the site for $9.8 million in 2012, records show. He’s also planning a $500 million spec property in Bel Air.

912 N. Hillcrest Road
An 11,000-square-foot mansion owned by Riza Aziz, a film producer and the stepson of Malaysian leader Najib Razak, could be up for grabs soon. The Department of Justice moved to seize the property last year, alleging it was bought with money misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd fund, a state fund created in 2009. Aziz bought the property from a friend, Malaysian businessman Jho Low, a party boy tied up in the 1MDB scandal who’s also been linked to Paris Hilton. Aziz has maintained his innocence in the scandal. The property has a 120-foot-long pool, a projection room, a gourmet kitchen and five bedrooms.

Snoop Dogg, Evan Metropoulos and Daren Metropoulos party together (credit: Getty Images_

1187 N. Hillcrest Road
Evan Metropoulos, the brother of Playboy Mansion owner Daren Metropoulos, recently scooped up this estate, formerly home to “Make Room for Daddy” star Danny Thomas, for $65 million. That’s may seem exorbitant, but it was originally asking $135 million. Metropoulos knew he had leverage, because the seller, billionaire Lebanese-British business mogul Gilbert Chagoury, has been barred from entering the U.S. on terrorism-related grounds. Chaghoury is one of the biggest donors to the Clinton Foundation. He bought the 2.5-acre, eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom estate for $15 million in 2000. Current Hillcrest residents, a fun fact on your new neighbor Metropoulos: He once told the New York Times that he had “been with more chicks than any fat guy you know, except Pavarotti.”

1015 N. Hillcrest Road
Last year, Mitch Julius, a founding member of hedge fund Canyon Capital Partners, shelled out $21 million to buy a Hillcrest Road property from the estate of Eldon Industries CEO Robert Silverstein for $21 million, according to real estate gossip Yolanda Yakketyyak. The principal lot, at 1016 North Hillcrest Road, comprises a main house with four bedrooms, a winding pebble driveway, glass walls and even a secret speakeasy. But Silverstein’s deal also included a 10,000-square-foot lot overlooking the property.

1181 N. Hillcrest Road
The shot heard ’round the real estate world. Markus Persson paid $70 million to handbag tycoon Bruce Makowsky for this 23,000-square-foot spec house, once reportedly eyed by Queen Bey and Jay Z. It features the standard eight bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, plus the perks: a 54-foot curved glass door that opens onto an infinity pool, a 2,500-bottle wine room, a candy room, a museum-style garage with a revolving floor and an 18-seat tiered screening room.

Hakkasan Group CEO Neil Moffitt (credit: Getty Images)

1169 N. Hillcrest Road
Yet another Hillcrest property implicated in the 1MDB scandal. The former owner of this undeveloped parcel, Hakkasan CEO Neil Moffitt, reportedly served as an intermediary for Khadem al-Qubaisi, an Emirati businessman and the former managing director of the International Petroleum Investment Company. Qubaisi was detained in the United Arab Emirates last year after U.S. authorities alleged he had looted millions of dollars in dealings between the Malaysian fund and IPI. Private equity mogul Alex Soltani bought the property for $22.4 million in 2016 and later flipped it to its current owner, a Chinese buyer, for $32 million in December 2016.

1163 N. Hillcrest Road
Last year, hedge funder David Kabiller snagged a Mexican-style mansion on this site as a teardown, paying $35 million for a chance to start afresh. The 7,182-square-foot, four-bedroom property was once owned by Henry Burroughs, founder of Fortress Capital. He also purchased an adjacent lot for roughly $15 million.

1174 N. Hillcrest Road
Plenty of room for blue suede shoes in this three-bedroom pad, which Elvis Presley reportedly bought for $400,000 after marrying his wife Priscilla in 1967. It was later owned by hotelier Peter Morton of Hard Rock Cafe fame, who went on to sell it for $14.5 million to Hamed El Chiaty, an Egyptian businessman. The 5,367-square-foot property is currently on the market for $30 million.

1130 N. Hillcrest Road
Hedi Gores, the co-founder of Pressed Juicery and ex-wife of private equity billionaire Alec Gores, bought her pad for $6 million in 2012, records show. She once dated “Good Charlotte” singer Benji Madden. The 5,603-square-foot property has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, according to Redfin.

Bill Brand

A plan to build a new $300 million mixed-use hub in Redondo Beach could be hindered by a hyperlocal ballot initiative that passed in last week’s elections, Curbed reported.

The passing of the initiative known as Measure C, which got 57 percent of the vote, was a big blow to CenterCal Properties, the developer behind a massive makeover of the Redondo Beach waterfront approved by the City Council last year. CenterCal’s plans call for a 524,000-square-foot “harbor village” with retail, office, a 700-seat movie theater, a hotel and new parking structures.

The measure would amend the zoning code to preserve two view corridors and prohibit new parking structures.

Although the measure specifically targets the public-private joint venture, its language doesn’t specify whether it will succeed in derailing the waterfront project. The California Coastal Commission may have to review the project, which could mean another public vote, according to the Daily Breeze.

CenterCal spent $525,000 trying to defeat the initiative. One of its most vocal proponents was City Council member and Mayor-elect Bill Brand, who defeated incumbent Mayor Steve Aspel in last week’s race. [Curbed] [DB] — Cathaleen Chen

Geoff Palmer and the N. Sierra Drive home

Infamous Beverly Hills developer Geoff Palmer, one of President Donald Trump’s most generous donors, has sold a home on N. Sierra Drive for $8.5 million, The Real Deal has learned.

The buyer is real estate investor Michael Shabani and his wife, L’Eclaireur scion Meryl Hadida Shabani, records show.

The 6,252-square-foot property, which is in the Beverly Hills Flats area, has five bedrooms and six bathrooms as well as a breakfast room overlooking the pool, a media room and a cabana with a sauna.

Palmer put the property on the market earlier this year, after buying it for $6.9 million in 2015. Palmer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rochelle Maize of Nourmand & Associates, who represented the buyer alongside Gayle Weiss and Pate Stevens, said her clients were savvy purchasers and saw the value in the property.

“They fell in love with the exquisite, over-the-top million-dollar renovation the owner did,” she said.

Palmer, who gave a $2-million check to the Trump Super PAC, is a polarizing figure in L.A. He was once dubbed Downtown’s worst developer by Curbed, thanks to his penchant for building massive faux-Italianate apartments such as the Orsini, the Medici and the most notorious Da Vinci.

The property is just one of many he’s owned in Beverly Hills. He and his wife reportedly live in a $21 million estate on Cove Way built in 1913 by Burton Green. He also reportedly owns a $17 million home in Malibu.

Project rendering of 2908 Wilshire Boulevard (Department of City Planning)

New details reveal what the Wilshire high-rise apartment tower by investment firm Hankey Investment Co. and partner Jamison Services will potentially look like.

Planning documents show the project at 2908 Wilshire Boulevard will include 23 stories of housing above a seven-story structure. The seven stories will contain additional housing, parking and street-level retail, Curbed reported.

The project, bordering Koreatown and Westlake, will include 227 studios, 293 one-bedroom units and 124 two-bedroom units. Retail will take up 10,000 square feet with an additional 5,500 square feet for restaurants.

The development will also include 64,440 square feet of open space for residents that includes a dog park, viewing deck, barbecue areas and event space.

The 2.3-acre site — which sits between Wilshire Boulevard, Hoover Street and Sunset Place — is currently home to two commercial buildings and a parking lot, The Real Deal previously reported. [Curbed] — Subrina Hudson

Ed McMahon and his former home on Tennyson Place (Credit: Military.com, Zillow)

Heeeeeeere’s Ed McMahon’s former home, now on the market for $22.5 million.

The half-acre compound in Hermosa Beach contains a nearly 6,000-square-foot main residence with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half-baths. A detached guest house over the garage has two more bedrooms and bathrooms.

The main house features a media room, “vintage Irish pub,” formal dining room, kitchen and service kitchen, and an open floor plan, according to marketing materials.

Outside, there’s another bar, a gazebo, a saltwater pool, multiple fire features and a detached wine cellar that holds 1,000 bottles of wine. The guest house, which has its own private deck, has another wine cellar.

The property last traded hands for $5 million in 2009, according to property records.

Tristy Patterson of Re/Max has the listing. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Since it was sold, the house underwent extensive renovations, according to a local agent not connected to the listing.

“The property was significantly upgraded, virtually rebuilt,” the agent said. “But this is also a special listing because of the size of the land and its proximity to the beach.”
McMahon, known for his role as the trusty sidekick to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show between 1962 and 1992, died in 2009. He starred in films such as “Fun with Dick and Jane” and “Bewitched.”

Priciest Listings (MLS)

Rockstar Energy Drink creator Russ Weiner may not have lived in his Beverly Hills estate, but the 12,100-square-foot mansion still made it to the top of last week’s priciest listings.

Weiner planned to live in the estate – once owned by Madonna – but changed his mind and has listed the property with an asking price of $45 million.

He purchased the nine-bedroom, 14-bathroom home in 2015 for $19 million, The Real Deal previously reported.

Here are the top five single-family home listings in Los Angeles, according to TRD’s analysis of Redfin and MLS data:

9425 Sunset Boulevard (MLS)

1. 9425 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills
   Price: $45 million
   Size: 12,100 square feet, 9 bedrooms/14 bathrooms
   Built: 1968
   Agents: Katelyn Byrd and Mauricio Umansky of the Agency

121 Udine Way (MLS)

2. 121 Udine Way, Los Angeles
   Price: $35 million
   Size: Square footage undisclosed, 6 bedrooms/9 bathrooms
   Built: Unknown
   Agents: Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency

726 N Maple Drive (MLS)

3. 726 N. Maple Drive
   Price: $17.5 million
   Size: 9,141 square feet, 6 bedrooms/7 bathrooms
   Built: 1949
   Agents: Rochelle Maize and Mica Rabineau of Nourmand & Associates

1200 Steven Way (MLS)

4. 1200 Steven Way, Beverly Hills
   Price: $14.9 million
   Size: 10,989 square feet, 6 bedrooms/9 bathrooms
   Built: 1955
   Agents: Sally Forster Jones of John Aaroe Group

10472 W Sunset Boulevard (MLS)

5. 10472 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
   Price: $12.5 million
   Size: 7,587 square feet, 6 bedrooms/9 bathrooms
   Built: 1934
   Agents: Levik and Anita Stephan of JohnHart Real Estate

Sunset Junction sign reworked to draw support for Measure S (Hillel Aron/LA Weekly)

Turns out, none of them did.

Measure S, the controversial anti-development ballot initiative that would’ve suspended any project seeking a zoning variance, was defeated by a landslide last Tuesday.

Despite anxiety among its opponents leading up to the vote, voters struck it down seamlessly. Only a handful of precincts voted in favor of the initiative, according to county election data reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

The biggest region to vote in favor of Measure S was the southern half of Westchester and Playa del Rey. Other Yes on S areas include the southwestern tip of Boyle Heights, a southeastern part of Watts, a part of San Pedro, and just a sliver of Fairfax, Silver Lake, Northridge, Shadow Hills and Echo Park.

Even the neighborhoods where the campaign was most visible — West L.A., Silver Lake, and Hollywood — voted No on S, the L.A. Times reported.

But developers are still proceeding with caution after the dramatic victory. They say the initiative shed light on the widespread mistrust in the planning process in L.A., and will not be partaking in building sprees any time soon.

“It reminds us to step carefully,” Kevin Farrell, chief operating officer of Century West Partners, told the Times. [LAT] — Cathaleen Chen

(Shubin Donaldson)

A hedge funder who purchased two adjacent lots on N. Hillcrest Road for a combined $50 million is planning to replace an old Mexican-style residence with a contemporary, museum-like compound, The Real Deal has learned.

Renderings obtained by TRD show a sleek, low-slung structure surrounded by trees, with a running waterfall and river-like features throughout.

(Shubin Donaldson)

The initial renderings were designed by mansion architects Shubin Donaldson.

Shubin Donaldson

Kabiller, a co-founder of investment management firm AQR Capital Management, is just one of a series of bigwigs calling N. Hillcrest home. Other big names include Twinkies heir Daren Metropolous, who recently bought a $65 million mansion on the cul-de-sac, and Minecraft mogul Markus Persson, who bought a $70 million contemporary home there in 2014.

Nelson Rising, Chris Rising and the Cal Plaza towers

Rising Realty Partners is in contract to buy one of the most prominent buildings on Downtown L.A.’s skyline, The Real Deal has learned.

Rising, the firm helmed by Downtown developer Nelson Rising and his son Chris Rising, has agreed to buy One California Plaza for a price of around $460 million, or around $460 per square foot, sources with knowledge of the deal told TRD. The seller, Beacon Capital Partners, paid $144.6 million for the roughly 1 million-square-foot, 42-story building at 300 S. Grand Avenue in 2013, according to CoStar Group data.

It’s unclear if Rising will bring in a partner on the deal. Representatives of the firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives of Beacon could not be reached.

When Eastdil Secured listed the property in January, sources told TRD it could sell for as much as $450 million. Representatives for the brokerage could not be reached for comment Monday.

The property is roughly 90 percent leased, CoStar shows.

Beacon has listed the property in the past, but had no luck finding a buyer when it didn’t own the land underneath the property, sources said. It purchased the fee interest in the property for $33.4 million from CRA/LA in November 2016, making the property more marketable, sources said.

Rising’s portfolio spans from older long-term-hold buildings to new developments. The firm bought the Garland Center last year and is working on a historic renovation of One Bunker Hill. When Rising completed its $25 million creative office revamp of the historic PacMutual Campus, it leased the transformed property to 90 percent and then sold  it for $200 million — a record Downtown sale at the time.

Current reader favorites:

1. Carmel Partners grabs stalled Casden site for $50M
2. N Hillcrest is newly minted billionaire’s playground
3. DEI buying 1299 Ocean for roughly $290M: sources
4. Geoff Palmer sells house in Beverly Hills Flats for $8.5M
5. Actress Lori Loughlin wants $35M for Bel Air home