Film, Insurance Firms Sign for 68,000 SF

Genius Products Inc. signed its deal with Los Angeles-based office REIT Maguire Properties Inc. in a move to consolidate and expand the offices of the fast growing Genius Products operations at 3301 Exposition Blvd., according to Trevor Belden, a principal in the Sherman Oaks office of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura. Belden represented Genius Products in the 10-year deal for a full floor in the newest addition to the 12-acre Lantana Entertainment Media Campus, with landlord Maguire represented internally by Debbie Tauberg and Joshua Worbel.

Belden says that the distributor of movies and television programming "needed to find a space that would accommodate its recent growth and desire to remain in a creative environment in Santa Monica." The deal puts all of Genius's operations under one roof in a brand new building specifically designed for companies like theirs, Belden adds.

Genius will be the first tenant to occupy Lantana South, which was entitled by the City of Santa Monica specifically for media and entertainment uses. Occupancy is slated for July. The company has been occupying about 17,000 sf of office elsewhere in Santa Monica and another 10,000 sf of temporary space in another building on the Lantana campus.

Genius Products Inc., along with the Weinstein Co. Holdings LLC, owns Genius Products LLC, a leading independent home-entertainment distribution company that produces, licenses and distributes a library of motion pictures, television programming, sports, family/faith, lifestyle and independent film on DVD through its expansive network of retailers throughout the US.

The Lantana Entertainment Media Campus is a 12-acre office campus composed of three low-rise office and studio production office buildings totaling 331,926 sf. Current tenants include Revolution Studios, IMAX and Todd-AO studios.

[IMGCAP(2)]In the ACE American Insurance Co. deal in Northridge, the tenant signed for its 27,184 sf at the 10-story West Valley Corporate Center just one month after the space became available, according to Gretchen Sauer, senior vice president for Los Angeles-based IDS Real Estate Group, which represented the property owner, a joint venture of Chatsworth Office LLC and CalSTRS, in the lease. ACE, which has signed a five-year deal, plans a June occupancy and expects to employ approximately 185 workers at the site.

In addition to Sauer, the building ownership was represented by Rob Fuelling, also a senior vice president of IDS, and Jim Lindvall of the Sherman Oaks office of Grubb & Ellis. ACE American was represented by Tony Acerra and Colin Fitzgibbons of the Staubach Co.

IDS is the asset and property manager for the West Valley Corporate Center, a property formerly owned by WaMu. Located at 9200 Oakdale Ave., the West Valley Corporate Center is a 258,000-sf class A office building situated on a landscaped 9.3-acre campus. With the signing of the ACE deal, all but 42,052 sf of the office development is leased.