The number of homes for sale in Los Angeles and Orange counties jumped almost 32 percent in October. From left: Zillow economist Aaron Terrazas and an aerial of LA homes (Credit: Twitter and iStock)

The number of homes for sale in the Los Angeles area spiked last month, attributed in part to high prices and inventory that is sitting on the market longer.

In L.A., there was a 30 percent jump in the number of homes on the market in October compared to last year, according to Zillow. Curbed first reported on the data. Last month, there were 28,947 homes for sale in the L.A. metro area compared to 21,951 over the same period in 2017.

That compares to the 3 percent uptick in inventory nationwide.

Zillow economist Aaron Terrazas told Curbed that the increased L.A. inventory was driven mostly by homes that sit on the market longer, suggesting buyers are less willing to pay inflated prices.

Those prices were slowly starting to fall. In September, median home prices in the region dropped 3.3 percent compared to August numbers. According to Trulia, the share of L.A. homes listed with a reduced price hit a 10-year high in August, as home sale activity slowed throughout Southern California. [Curbed] — Gregory Cornfield

Uta Plaza and Stuart Shiff (Credit: The Location Portal)

DivcoWest Real Estate Investments is under contract to purchase the Beverly Hills office complex UTA Plaza and The Ice House for about $236 million, The Real Deal has learned. United Talent Agency and entertainment giant Live Nation are both headquartered at the three-building campus.

The seller is Rockefeller Group, the New York-based real estate firm owned by Mitsubishi Estate. Rockefeller acquired the 236,000-square-foot complex for $212 million from Tishman Speyer in 2014. DivcoWest’s purchase would work out to about $1,000 per square foot.

UTA Plaza consists of three four-story buildings at 9336, 9346 and 9348 Civic Center Drive. It sits on a 3.4-acre campus a few blocks from Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills City Hall. Originally built as an ice and cold storage plant, the Ice House was converted to offices in the 1990s.

United Talent Agency, which represents stars like Angelina Jolie and Wes Anderson, took over Playboy Enterprises’ lease at the complex earlier this year. It expanded its occupancy to approximately 191,000 square feet spread across two buildings.

Live Nation, which occupies one building and about 45,000 square feet, has been headquartered there since 2006.

A representative for DivcoWest declined to comment. A Rockefeller spokesperson did not return a call for comment.

The purchase would increase DivcoWest’s investment in the Beverly Hills market to nearly $320 million in 2018. In June, the San Francisco-based firm paid $83 million to acquire a 90,000-square-foot building at 331 North Maple Drive. RREEF America, the asset management wing of Deutsche Bank, sold that property. San Francisco-based DivcoWest, led by CEO Stuart Shiff, owns several properties around Los Angeles, including the Glendale Plaza.

Shoreline Technology Park (Credit: Wikipedia)

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, has just scooped up a $1 billion business park near its Mountain View headquarters.

The tech behemoth purchased Shoreline Technology Park, a 51.8-acre property a few blocks away from its Googleplex, Bloomberg reported. Google is already the main tenant of Shoreline’s 12 buildings.

Google’s been on something of a real estate tear.

The company recently bought up property in nearby Sunnyvale for $160.3 million, according to the Mercury News in San Jose. Earlier this year, Google closed on its $2.4 billion purchase of the Chelsea Market building in New York City. The company is also trying to buy property in San Jose for a new campus, but the deal is being challenged by two nonprofits that filed a lawsuit to block the $67 million deal.

Google’s latest massive real estate purchase comes on the heels of another tech giant announcing the location of its new headquarters. Amazon will be splitting its new HQ2 between Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. The company is also opening a regional hub in Nashville, Tennessee. [Bloomberg] — Kathryn Brenzel

Chapman Market and Neville Rhone

CAP Arc Capital Partners Managing Partner Neville Rhone and Chapman Market in Koreatown

ArcWest Partners, a joint venture of local firms Arc Capital Partners and Belay Investment Group, will use a $100 million cash infusion to invest in urban properties in the southwest United States.

Belay Investment Group provided the funding. The additional cash puts ArcWest in position to buy up to $425 million in properties in that part of the country.

ArcWest is focused on value-add apartment, office or retail properties, with a focus on those that can be repositioned to appeal to younger tenants, Arc Capital managing partner Neville Rhone said in a statement.

In 2016, ArcWest acquired the 45,000-square-foot Chapman Market in Koreatown and the 30,000-square-foot Jones Building in Silver Lake, following its first $50 million funding allocation. Other properties followed.

The most recent cash infusion is being made with money from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. CalSTRS provided $200 million in capital to the joint venture in 2016. In May, CalSTRS launched a $300 million commercial real estate investment venture with Divco West Real Estate. As of last year, the CalSTRS total investment portfolio added up to around $208.7 billion.

David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices (Credit: S&P Dow Jones via YouTube and iStock)

Want more evidence the U.S. housing market is losing ground? Home price gains continue to slow in many of the largest metro areas, according to a new S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller nationwide survey.

The 5.5 percent home price increase in September was down slightly from the 5.7 percent gain the previous month, according to the report. The 5.5 percent gain was the smallest since January 2017.

Both the survey’s 10-city and 20-city composites performed worse than the national average, meaning price gains were strongest outside major markets.

Los Angeles saw a 5.5 percent home price increase, while Miami had a 4.6 percent bump and Chicago had a 3 percent rise.

New York’s 2.6 percent year-over-year increase was the weakest of all major cities.

Some of the markets that are now seeing some of the strongest gains, like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa, Florida; saw the most significant drops in home prices during the financial crisis.

Other recent figures point to a slowdown across the board. Sales of existing and new single-family homes were down 9.3 percent compared their peak value in November 2017. Existing home sales have declined on an annual basis for eight straight months.

Housing starts are also down and homebuilder confidence in the market dropped to its lowest point in two years earlier this month.

David Blitzer of S&P Dow Jones Indices attributed the slowdown in part to a recent increase in mortgage rates. The national average for a 30-year fixed-rate loan is 4.9 percent, a full percentage point higher than it was a year ago. That could be cause for potential buyers to pull back.

The higher rates also helped push mortgage applications to a four-year low. As those applications slow, more Americans are tapping their home equity. Homeowners took out $14.6 billion against their homes in the third quarter.

The Bel Air mansion hit the market for $12.5 million. From left: Ed McMahon, Donald Trump, and Levik Stephan

A Bel Air mansion that once belonged to “The Tonight Show” sidekick hit the market this week.

Ed McMahon’s former home was listed for $12.5 million the Los Angeles Times reported. The three-story home of the famous “second banana” was built in 1934.

The estate on West Sunset Boulevard spans more than 20,000 square feet and includes a gated motor court. About 7,600 square feet of living space includes six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a galley-style kitchen, an indoor-outdoor living room, and an elevator. Two terraces offer views of Century City, and the outdoor space includes a fountain, patio, a pool and a spa.

The property last sold for $2.7 million in 2004. Levik Stephan of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has the listing.

The late comedian made real estate news in 2008 when he fought to avoid foreclosure of a different home in the Beverly Hills Post Office area. Real estate mogul and aspiring politician Donald J. Trump offered to buy that 7,000-square-foot property and let McMahon continue to live there, but the home eventually sold to another investor.

McMahon died in 2009 at age 86. He was a comedian, game show host and actor. He famously enjoyed a 30-year tenure as talk show sidekick for Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show,” where he coined the phrase, “Here’s Johnny.” [LAT] – Gregory Cornfield

Alejandro Andrade, and 15231 Sunnyland Lane, Wellington

A former national treasurer of Venezuela was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday for his role in a $1 billion dollar money laundering scheme in which much of the money went into South Florida real estate.

Alejandro Andrade was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg of the Southern District of Florida. He admitted in a guilty plea that he received over $1 billion worth of bribes from his co-conspirator, Venezuelan TV mogul Raul Gorrín, and other co-conspirators in exchange for allowing them to tap into Venezuela’s special fixed currency exchange rate, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The fixed rate is much more favorable than the market rate.

Federal prosecutors said Andrade received cash as well as private jets, yachts, cars, homes, champion horses, and high-end watches from his co-conspirators. As part of his guilty plea, he agreed to forfeit his assets, which included 17 champion show horses and five real estate properties in Palm Beach County.

Andrade pleaded guilty in December 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment was not unsealed until this month.

The properties include:

• 15231 Sunnyland Lane, Wellington, a five-bedroom, six-bathroom estate that was last sold for $4.75 million in 2012.
• 15680 46th Lane South, Wellington, a three-bedroom, two-and-half bathroom home that last sold for $1.35 million in 2013.
• 15740 46th Lane South Wellington, a 4.2-acre parcel of land.
• 1290 North Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, a six-bedroom, five-and-half bathroom home that last sold for $8 million.
• 16912 Crown Bridge Drive, Delray Beach, a four-bedroom, five-bathroom home that last sold for $1.7 million in 2016.
• 15159 Sunnyland Lane, Wellington, a seven-bedroom, five-and-half bathroom, 10-acre estate that last sold for $3.5 million.

Gorrín, a billionaire who is president of the news channel Globovisión, is now a fugitive, according to the Department of Justice.

Authorities are now seeking to seize about two dozen properties allegedly tied to Gorrín. Those residences include luxury homes in Miami’s Cocoplum neighborhood and six in Manhattan.

The indictment follows a separate billion-dollar money laundering scheme in July that also included real estate in South Florida. In that case, federal prosecutors say top Venezuelan officials siphoned funds out of the state oil company, and into assets throughout the world.

In both cases, some of the money is alleged to have been poured into two units at Dezer Development’s luxury Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach.

In November, Matthias Krull, a wealth manager with the Swiss bank Julius Baer Group, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in that scheme, after pleading guilty in August.

Gorrín was not a defendant in that case, but the Miami Herald — which first reported on the most recent indictment — reported that he is suspected of moving $600 million from PDVSA to a European bank for his own benefit as well for other members of Venezuela’s elite class.

The Bullocks Wilshire building at 3050 Wilshire Blvd. was acquired by Southwestern Law School in 1994 and became part of the school’s campus. The school now plans to construct a seven-story dorm behind the building on 7th Street. (Photos by Gregory Cornfield)

Southwestern Law School is reviving a long-stalled plan to build student housing in Wilshire Center near Koreatown and MacArthur Park.

The school filed plans this month to build a seven-story, 133-unit residence at 2972 West 7th Street behind its building on Wilshire Boulevard.

School officials first proposed a student housing project in 2010 around 655 S. Wilshire Place in Koreatown. The city approved that plan, but appeals against it stalled development. But in 2014, the city granted the project an extension.

Now, the law school is applying for a height bonus through the city’s Transit-Oriented Communities program, created to encourage denser projects near public transportation hubs with affordable components. The program applies to any housing development within a half-mile of an existing or planned rail station. Southwestern Law is next to the Metro Purple and Red line station at Vermont Avenue.

The school is located at the Bullocks Wilshire Building at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard. The 230,000-square-foot Art Deco building was designed in 1929 by Los Angeles architects John and Donald Parkinson as a luxury department store for John G. Bullocks.

It is a historic-cultural monument for the city, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 1994, the building was acquired by Southwestern Law School as part of its campus.

Richard Barton, Jay Hoag, and Spencer Rascoff

Zillow Group’s stock has taken a beating on Wall Street, but two major shareholders just doubled down on their investments in the listings giant.

Richard Barton, the Seattle-based company co-founder and executive chairman, bought $19.2 million worth of Zillow stock last week, regulatory filings show. Meanwhile, Jay Hoag, a venture capitalist who sits on Zillow’s board of directors, shelled out $25 million to up his stake in the company.

Both scooped up discounted shares of Zillow after the stock price tumbled 20 percent in the wake of an earnings report on Nov. 6 that shook investor confidence. In its earnings report, Zillow acknowledged that revenue from its cash cow, Premier Agent, was lower than expected. The company laid out steps it was taking to address the issue, but that didn’t calm investor nerves.

In a statement following his stock purchase, Barton said he is committed to Zillow’s long term-vision, which includes buying and selling homes direct from consumers. He said Zillow’s work in bringing real estate data to light, “has set the stage for Act II: transforming the way consumers buy, sell, mortgage, and rent homes.”

Barton’s confidence, however, isn’t shared widely on Wall Street.

Following this month’s earnings report, Zillow’s stock price sank overnight to $29.99 per share from $40.74 per share. And on Nov. 7, investors traded 21.4 million shares of the company stock, compared to around 2.4 million on an average day. The price has been notching small improvements since, and closed at $33.47 per share on Tuesday.

Zillow faced blowback during the third quarter from changes it made to Premier Agent — including the addition of vetted buyer leads — which resulted in the loss of some agent advertisers. During the Nov. 6 earnings call, CEO Spencer Rascoff said that “Premier Agent issues are very solvable.” He said some changes have already been made; for example, Zillow is toning down its vetting of buyers so that agents receive more leads.

However, analyst Tom White of D.A. Davidson, said improved revenue from Premier Agent wasn’t likely until well into 2019 “at best.”

“For shorter-term investors, [Zillow] seems to have a lot on its plate,” he wrote in a Nov. 7 note.

But neither Barton nor Hoag are short-term investors.

Barton, a former Microsoft executive who also helped start Expedia and Glassdoor, was already one of Zillow’s largest shareholders. He owned 31.6 percent of the company’s total shares in April, when Zillow filed its most recent proxy statement.

To increase his stake, he paid between $26.95 and $28.14 per share between Nov. 16 and Nov. 20, filings show.

Hoag co-founded Menlo Park-based Technology Crossover Ventures, a growth equity fund that’s raised $12 billion since 1995. The firm was an early investor in Zillow, which went public in 2011. TCV has also backed the likes of Facebook, Expedia, Airbnb and Netflix.

Hoag purchased 850,000 shares of Zillow on Nov. 21, according to filings, including 600,000 shares priced at $29.08 and 250,000 shares priced at $29.47. He now owns 2.79 million shares of Zillow stock. Hoag joined Zillow’s board in 2005 and he also sits on the board of TripAdvisor, which was spun off from Expedia in 2011. Through a spokesperson, he declined to comment.

Bond Companies co-founders Lawrence and Robert Bond

Bond Companies wants to build a 200-unit mixed-use complex in in Hollywood, which would be among the firm’s largest in recent years.

The Brentwood-based company filed permits with the city for the eight-story construction at 1522-1538 N. Cassil Place.

The site, now a parking lot, is owned by the YMCA, which operates a branch nearby. Bond Companies is in the process of buying the property, said co-founder Larry Bond. He said his firm “loves Hollywood,” and picked the site for its access to the Metro and its walkability.

The permit calls for seven stories of residential units over ground-floor retail and three levels of subterranean parking. Bond Companies will include some affordable units and advantage of the site’s eligibility for density bonuses under the Transit Oriented Communities program.

The site is also located within a federal Opportunity Zone, which provides long-term tax incentives to real estate developers who invest in those underseved areas. The nationwide program, created under President Trump’s tax overhaul plan, opens up trillions of dollars for investment.

The Bond Companies’ project appears to be the firm’s largest in L.A. since it developed the 300-unit Hollywood and Vine project over a decade ago. The company has pursued under 100-unit projects in Echo Park, including a 47-unit TOC project filed earlier this year.

A Wildfire Defense Systems truck

Around California, insurance companies and homeowners concerned about the increasing threat of wildfires are turning to private firefighting crews for an added layer of protection.

An insurance company will typically hire private firefighting and prevention teams to safeguard policyholders’ homes and assets from damage, according to the Los Angeles Times. The companies see it as a cost-effective response to the fires, because hiring crews is cheaper than having to pay to replace a home and its contents.

In response to California’s most recent round of wildifres, including the Woolsey Fire that devastated parts of L.A. and Ventura counties, Montana-based firm Wildfire Defense Systems deployed 53 fire trucks, 100 firefighters and 50 support workers. The company has contracts with dozen insurance agencies, and has responded to 100 fires statewide over the last decade, according to the Times.

The work is typically preventive — the companies rake vegetation around homes, close windows and spray fire retardant around the property and homes. They will also extinguish small fires in the immediate area that threaten properties.

Homeowners can also hire crews outright, like Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West did earlier this month when the Woolsey Fire threatened their Hidden Hills home.

But the he proliferation of such services sometimes causes friction with traditional fire departments. The private firms work independently of municipal team and aren’t anywhere near as robust. Some firefighters say the private firms don’t coordinate well enough and can create a safety hazard with their presence. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch 

VTS CEO Nick Romito

VTS is getting ready to launch a business that would cut brokers out of some commercial real estate deals.

The startup tech firm is planning to launch the platform early next year, and it will focus on letting landlords and tenants negotiate directly with each other on relatively small and simple commercial deals for less than 5,000 square feet, according to the Wall Street Journal. The system will work for larger deals as well, but those will likely still involve brokers.

The five-year old tech firm and has created software to help landlords keep track of leasing deals throughout the entire process. It has information on roughly 9 billion square feet of office space in the top 20 U.S. markets, which will serve as the foundation for their new platform.

VTS merged with its rival Hightower in 2016 and has raised $106 million from Blackstone and other venture capital firms. Co-founder Brandon Weber told The Real Deal earlier this fall that he would step back from his day job at the company but continue to sit on its board and work as an adviser to CEO Nick Romito. [WSJ] – Eddie Small

Onni Group President Rossano DeCotiis and the Art Deco portion of Times Mirror Square that PLUM approved for Historic-Cultural Monument status

CAP Onni Group President Rossano DeCotiis and the Art Deco portion of Times Mirror Square that PLUM approved for Historic-Cultural

Onni Group’s massive plan for the redevelopment of a Downtown complex that includes the former headquarters of the Los Angeles Times has taken a major step forward.

A City Council committee rejected an appeal by preservationists to designate all of the 750,000-square-foot Times Mirror Square property as a Historic-Cultural Monument. That would include a mid-century office building that the Canadian firm wants to demolish to build a pair of high-rise residential towers, according to Urbanize.

Instead, the Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee voted to designate only two older structures dating from the 1930s and ’40s as cultural monuments, both of which Onni already has said it will maintain and incorporate into the development. The company intends to refurbish those buildings to create 285,000 square feet of office space and ground floor retail.

The L.A. Times had its offices at Times Mirror Square from 1935 until earlier this year, when new owner Patrick Soon-Shiong moved the newspaper to El Segundo. Onni purchased the property in 2016.

The two buildings Onni will replace are a parking garage and an office building that was added to the site in the 1970s, which was designed by celebrated architect William Pereira. Onni’s planned towers are being designed by Los Angeles-based AC Martin artchitects, to have 1,127 residential units.

Onni’s plans were challenged in September after the city Cultural Heritage Commission recommended the entire complex be designated a Historic-Cultural Monument because of the Periera structure’s significance to history of the L.A. Times and the city.

The full City Council will now vote on the measure, and usually sides with committee decisions. Onni also needs the Council to endorse its redevelopment plan for it to move forward. [Urbanize] — Dennis Lynch 

Elon Musk (Credit: Getty Images)

When Elon Musk envisioned his system of high-speed vehicle transport tunnels beneath Los Angeles, many welcomed the idea in a city of increasing gridlock. Others, however, were more skeptical.

Following a contentious battle with neighborhood groups, Musk’s Boring Company — which is at work on the tunnel — will drop its plan for a test tunnel beneath Sepulveda Boulevard, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported. The tunnel network, as Musk has described it, would be a zero-emissions, high-speed method of transit for personal vehicles and single riders traveling through the city.

The company said it “amicably settled” the matter with the opposing parties, and is “no longer seeking the development of the Sepulveda test tunnel.” Instead, it will aim for a similar version near Dodger Stadium.

The neighborhood groups, which include Brentwood Residents Coalition and Sunset Coalition, sued the city in May after it approved construction of the test tunnel. In the complaint, they argued the Boring Co. should conduct a full environmental impact report before starting work on the 2.8-mile test tunnel.

The company will now focus on building a “Dugout Loop” that will help ease traffic for Los Angeles Dodgers fans. The operational tunnel is being marketed as a public transportation alternative for fans traveling from Los Feliz, East Hollywood and Rampart Village neighborhoods.

It is unclear when it will start work on the Dodger Stadium project. Boring Company was already eyeing that location, and in August, had been in the process of conducting environmental studies under state guidelines.

Boring Company is also working on a separate test tunnel in Hawthorne, which is its headquarters. In October, Musk announced on Twitter that a portion of the tunnel will be open to the public for free rides on Dec. 10. [LABJ] — Natalie Hoberman

Jerome Powell (Credit: Getty Images)

Ever-rising commercial real estate prices nationwide could be a risk to the stability of the U.S. financial markets, as they were in the last recession.

That was the assessment from the Federal Reserve in its inaugural financial stability report on Wednesday. Fed officials cited commercial real estate — in which purchase prices continue to outpace rent increases — as well as nonfinancial corporate borrowing as risks in its report, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Separately, some Fed officials have pointed out that the past two recessions were caused not by inflation, but by asset bubbles, such as real estate, which can be more difficult problems to solve.

The report is a result of efforts by former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to monitor weak links in the financial system following the crisis. Now, it comes at a time when market indicators show that economic growth is waning nationwide, as interest rates rise, according to the Journal.

It also raises less concern about risks stemming from household borrowing and in the banking sector. It said the chance that banks would misprice one asset such as real estate is low, according to the Journal.

The banking sector was well capitalized based on the report, though officials did express concern about the signs of increased borrowing at nonbank financial firms including hedge funds. This could be risky because nonbank lenders are increasingly making up a bigger share of the real estate lending landscape.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was expected to be in New York on Wednesday to speak about monetary policy and financial stability. [WSJ] — Keith Larsen

Olympia renderings (Credit: SOM)

After nearly two years in the pipeline, City Century has taken another step toward its plan for a three-tower South Park mixed-use project.

The developer, an affiliate of China’s Shenglong Group, filed its final environmental impact report for the $1 billion Olympia project, according to city records. The city will follow that up with public hearings on the massive planned complex.

The firm is considering two options for the site, both of which would include a large amount of residential units and commercial space. One of the plans would include a hotel component.

The original plan would see the construction of 1,367 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail space. It would include a 65-story tower with 488 apartments, and nearly 20,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space.

The second option was proposed in October 2017, when City Century filed its draft environmental report. That would involve substituting apartments for hotel rooms. It would include 1,000 hotel rooms and 879 apartments. The 65-story tower would remain, housing the hotel rooms and the 20,000 square feet of retail.

City Century is also planning to build separate 53- and 43-story story towers. A four-story podium would connect the three high-rises.

In both options, the 53-story tower would include up to 516 units and about 8,200 square feet of retail space while the 43-story high-rise would include 363 residential units and up to 11,800 square feet of retail space.

There would also be about 163,000 square feet of open space and amenities.

In separate project entirely, City Century is planning a 10-story building with 312 units and 7,100 square feet of retail space at 1201 S. Grand Avenue. That project is different from its initial iteration as well. In May, the company scrapped its proposal for a 37-story luxury tower there, which would have had 126 units.

Chandler Wonderly and Anthony Wonderly

A multifamily firm based in Texas acquired a newly constructed apartment building in Irvine for $118.5 million, making it one of the largest sales in Orange County this year.

Olympus Property acquired the complex, called Fusion Apartments, from Georgia-based 360 Residential. The 280-unit building was completed earlier this year.

Located at 17321 Murphy Avenue, the property includes a pool, fitness center, barbecue grill, cabanas, garden and Koi pond. There’s also a 14,000-square-foot rooftop deck.

Torrance-based Withee Malcolm Architects designed the five-story complex, which sits on a 3.5-acre spread.

Stewart Weston, Dean Zander, John Montakab and Paul Berry of CBRE brokered the deal.

Olympus has a history of investing in Southern California properties. The firm, led by brothers Chandler and Anthony Wonderly, also owns the Olympus Corsair, a luxury residential community in San Diego.

Multifamily investors have been increasingly turning to Orange County. In late September, Brookfield Residential broke ground on a new mixed-use development in Stanton that will add 208 residences ranging from $400,000 to $600,000.

From left: Reginald Gilyard and Nick DiPaolo (Credit: iStock)

Cushman & Wakefield tapped Nick DiPaolo as director of brokerage for Greater Los Angeles. He will oversee brokers working out of the firm’s Downtown and West L.A. offices, along with those in El Segundo and Long Beach. He held a similar role in the company’s San Diego operation. Prior to joining joining Cushman & Wakefield, DiPaolo worked at CBRE for nine years.

Brokers Stacy Vierheilig-Fraser and Todd Wuschnig have joined Lee & Associates as principals after their old shop, Charles Dunn Co., said it would be closing its brokerage division. Vierheilig-Fraser specializes in office leasing and sales in the San Fernando Valley, while Wuschnig represents landlords and tenants in medical, entertainment and media office sectors. Mike Tingus, president at Lee, said in a statement his firm had been trying to recruit the two for a decade but “timing was never right.” Until now, that is.

Commercial real estate firm Kidder Mathews recruited away C.J. Collins from Voit Real Estate Services. In his new role as senior vice president, Collins will specialize in industrial properties in the South Bay market. Some of his more notable deals include representing Local Roots in its 125,860-square-foot lease in Vernon, and closing several deals for Guardian Life Insurance.

Up the coast in San Francisco, real estate lawyer Allison Kidd was promoted to partner at Gibson Dunn. Her practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions and land use issues, such as acquisitions and entitlements. Kidd’s promotion was part of a larger company-wide restructuring, where the international law firm named 17 new partners.

Jaime Gilinski and 805 Nimes Place in Bel Air

Nearly a year after filing for bankruptcy, residential real estate investment firm Woodbridge Group of Companies continues to shed properties from its once massive portfolio.

Billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal, a banker and real estate developer, is in escrow to pay $36 million for two properties — a land parcel and a home — held in the Woodbridge portfolio. That’s about $12 million less than what the company paid for them.

The Colombian businessman is spending $25.1 million for a vacant 1.2-acre parcel in Bel Air, plus another $11 million for a home in the exclusive Bird Streets, Yolanda’s Little Black Book reported.

Like other Woodbridge-owned properties, the Bel Air land comes with elaborate plans for a 41,000-square-foot mansion that was never built. Marketing documents claim the home has all the necessary permits for construction.

The modest home in the Bird Streets, meanwhile, sits on a half-acre of property. But Woodbridge had bigger plans for that, too. Architect Paul McClean conceived a 15,000-square-foot residence with a swimming pool on the upper floor.

Gilinski’s purchase still requires approval from the bankruptcy court to proceed.

Gilinski is best known for building a banking empire in Latin America alongside his father. He is building the mixed-use Panama Pacifico in Panama, a massive project said to be valued at $10 billion when completed.

The government accused Woodbridge founder and former CEO Robert Shapiro of orchestrating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, in which he duped investors by promising high returns on their investments that never materialized. Meanwhile, much of their money went into a web of different companies Shapiro controlled.

Earlier this month, Shapiro agreed to pay $120 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of his settlement. He and other defendants named in the SEC lawsuit are paying a combined $892 million, which will be used to compensate victims. [Yolanda] — Natalie Hoberman

Michael Cohen and Trump Tower at 725 5th Avenue (Credit: Getty Images and Wikipedia)

President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to a new criminal charge.

Cohen, at a court hearing, said he made false statements to Congress about a Trump Tower deal in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reported. The deal has been a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

Cohen said he downplayed his interactions with Russia about the potential project and made false statements about the negotiations, according to the report. The negotiations never led to a finalized deal.

His appearance in Manhattan court on Thursday morning came as a surprise. He’s slated to be sentenced in two weeks on other charges. In exchange for the new guilty plea and continued cooperation, he may hope to receive a lighter sentence.

Last year, Cohen emailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson asking for help getting a real estate project in Moscow approved, according to a previous report. Cohen claimed that he wrote the email at the urging of Felix Sater, a developer who heads the Bayrock Group which co-developed the Trump Soho. Cohen reportedly said he didn’t hear back and the project was abandoned.

Cohen previously pleaded guilty to felony counts of fraud and campaign finance violations. The charges included failing to report $4.1 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service between years 2012 and 2016, including $100,000 in brokerage commissions.

Over the summer, Cohen sold stakes in two apartment buildings in the East Village and Upper East Side totaling $12.9 million. At 133 Avenue D, Cohen sold four stakes to his joint venture partner in the building, Vintage Group, for $4 million, according to filings. He sold four stakes at 330 East 63rd Street to Vintage for $8.9 million. [NYT] — Meenal Vamburkar