Hackman Capital Partners, LLC, a Los-Angeles based real estate investment and operating company, announced today the purchase of a 23-acre site, located less than a mile from LAX International Airport on Douglas Street in El Segundo, California. The site contains four buildings totaling 540,210 square feet. Acquired from Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC, S&P: BBB+), the property was part of the global security company’s 84-acre manufacturing complex. Northrop Grumman is retaining ownership of the remaining 61-acre complex and will continue to operate there. Northrop also will lease back portions of the sold property for varying time periods over the next few years.
Hackman Capital plans to reposition and transform the existing buildings into a state-of-the-art creative office campus. The balance of property will be studied for its highest and best use.
“We’ve focused a lot of our attention on acquiring urban infill industrial and related properties in prime, high-barrier-to-entry markets” said Michael Hackman, founder and CEO of Hackman Capital Partners. “This property squarely fits squarely that strategy with buildings that are ideal conversions to creative-office space, especially given its location, access to public transportation, an abundance of land and the vibrant El Segundo submarket.”
A long-time hub for California’s aerospace and defense sectors, and now the largest submarket in the South Bay, El Segundo is quickly emerging as a coveted destination for technology, media and entertainment companies. Key growth factors point to dwindling inventories in surrounding submarkets of West Los Angeles, Silicon Beach and Playa Vista, but El Segundo’s many benefits stand strong on their own—the most attractive, of which, is the area’s easy access to air, highway and commuter transportation.
“This is a unique 23-acre campus situated less than one mile from LAX with easy access to the 105 and 405 freeways. The Metro Rail Green Line and new LAX/Crenshaw Transit Line stations also are located right across the street,” said Hackman.
Other area perks, according to Hackman, include a diversified, business-friendly economy with a large concentration of Fortune 500 companies and proximity to an expanding base of amenities, including executive housing and quality schools.
In addition to the property’s location, the buildings’ features also lend themselves well to Hackman Capital’s renovation plans. “High-bay buildings with authentic saw-tooth roofing will become stunning creative-office space with an abundance of natural light. There is a significant amount of land that will allow us to create a campus-like environment for modern and collaborative workspaces,” Hackman continued.
The property’s size and location presents endless opportunity. “We’re excited to see our ideas take form,” Hackman concluded.
Founded in 1986, Hackman Capital has conducted more than $3 billion in real estate transactions across 41 states—having owned, through affiliated entities, over 400 buildings totaling 35-plus million square feet and 10,000 acres of land. More than 6.2 million square feet of those properties have been located in California.
The company’s most notable Southern California projects include The Culver Studios, a 14.3 acre media studio campus, the Beats/Apple Southern California headquarters and Westwood One Studios, as well as a multi-building creative office conversion in Newport Beach, CA. A creative office conversion also is planned for a recent acquisition at 5500 West Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles.
