Dec 28, 2023
University of California Seeks to Buy LA’s Westside Pavilion
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- The University of California is seeking to buy Los Angeles’ Westside Pavilion, a former mall that was converted into offices for companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
The university filed an environmental notice with the state for a proposed action to acquire the property at 10800 and 10830 West Pico Blvd, as well as 10850 West Pico Blvd.
A deal to buy the former mall would mark a major step for the property. In 2018, Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. and Macerich Co. formed a joint venture to redevelop it into offices. The partners signed a lease nearly a year later with Google for the entirety of the One Westside space.
A representative for HPP declined to comment, while representatives for Macerich, Google and UC didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Urbanize LA reported the UC deal earlier.
The Westside Pavilion was constructed in the 1980s as a shopping mall centrally located in Los Angeles, just a short walk from the light-rail E Line and close to freeways. Tom Petty filmed part of the music video for his hit “Free Fallin’” at the property. But the mall struggled, along with other retail properties, as e-commerce boomed.
Office property owners have also been struggling as borrowing costs rise and some tenants pull back given the growth in remote work. Technology firms including Google and Amazon.com Inc. have been seeking to reduce their real estate footprints.
HPP struck deals earlier this year to sell land in Silicon Valley and studio debt to help repay amounts outstanding on its unsecured revolving credit facility. Earlier this week, the company announced that it secured an amendment to that credit facility.
UCLA, which is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) north of Westside Pavilion, has been buying property because its Westwood-area campus is full. In June, it bought the Trust Building in downtown Los Angeles. The school also acquired acquired two sites in the county’s South Bay area with a total 35.5 acres (14 hectares) for $80 million in September 2022.
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