Related Lands $47M Buyer at Century Condos

The developer says that the $47 million price for the Century penthouse sets a new high price-per-sf record for a Los Angeles condominium, surpassing of $2,700 per sf that was set in February when Related sold a half-floor penthouse at the Century for $15 million. Despite a sluggish market for more ordinary condominiums since the economic downturn, the Century has achieved sales of $200 million for its luxury condos and has sold more than 50% of the first release.

Related expects to top out construction of the luxury condominium tower at the end of this year and to have the units available for occupancy by the end of 2009. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern, the condo tower will feature units from 2,400 sf to 10,000 sf and is under construction on a four-acre site on the Avenue of the Stars adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. The development parcel formerly was the site of the St. Regis Hotel, which Related bought from the Phoenix-based Pivotal Group for about $123 million before razing the hotel to make way for the condominium tower.

Spelling will be moving to the Century from the 123-room, 56,500-sf Spelling estate in Beverly Hills, which has long been described as one of the largest and most luxurious in Southern California. According to David Wine, vice chairman of Related, Spelling "wanted the freedom that will come from no longer having to manage a large estate and staff and yet will continue to enjoy the pleasures of estate living."

The Century condominiums will offer a level of luxury that will be remarkable even on the Westside of Los Angeles, where a number of upscale projects have been built over the years. Related notes that the project will include four acres of gardens for the private use of the Century residents. Wine says that the condominium tower "has been designed specifically for wealthy homeowners who want a life of estate living, but who are ready to give up the burden of home maintenance and be in the center of everything in Los Angeles' Westside."

The penthouse that Spelling is buying will feature panoramic views from Downtown Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills to the east, and west to the Pacific and Santa Catalina Island.

Nearby on the 41st floor of Century City's Century Plaza Towers at 2049 Century Park East, Related has opened an 8,000-sf sales and design center for the condo project. The sales office overlooks the site where the Century is being constructed.