$43M Sports Club Lease Represents 'Next Step' for Ratkovich Project

ALHAMBRA, CA-The Ratkovich Co. has signed a long-term, $43-million lease with Irvine-based LA Fitness. The deal marks what Ratkovich calls the transition of its one-million-sf Alhambra project on Fremont Avenue from office campus to urban center. The Ratkovich Co. will build a new 50,000-sf building for LA Fitness on a site at the corner of Orange and Fremont avenues at the Alhambra.

Wayne Ratkovich, president of the Ratkovich Co., notes that the Alhambra development already includes retail space in addition to the office buildings. The next step after the LA Fitness building is to add for-sale housing to the campus.

Ratkovich, which is owner and developer of the Alhambra project in partnership with Cigna, expects to introduce the housing plans to the City of Alhambra Planning Commission soon for approval. Construction of the LA Fitness facility will require the demolition of existing facilities, according to Ratkovich.

The new sports club will feature an outdoor swimming pool, basketball court, spinning and weight rooms. It is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in late 2007.

Linda Lee and Brenden Monaghan of Grubb & Ellis represented the Ratkovich Co. in the LA Fitness lease. Peter Isakovic of Grubb & Ellis and John Kalamaras of RealSource Partners represented LA Fitness.

The Alhambra began as a corporate office project, but Ratkovich has since transformed and expanded it to include the Shops at the Alhambra along with a list of government and educational tenants. Among these are Southwest Administrators, the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's and Health Services departments, Tenet Healthcare, AT&T/SBC, Alliant International University, Sound Master Recording Engineering School, the Keck School of Medicine at USC, Platt College, Bryman College, California American University and China International Medical University.