Brea-based Krystal Enterprises, which bills itself as the largest maker of stretch limousines, is expanding.
The company, led by President Ed Grech, just bought a 65,000-square-foot industrial building in Brea for $6.5 million. The building, at 1295 Lambert Road, is set to be used for making a new line of vehicles, according to the company.
Besides limos, Krystal also makes midsize luxury buses and professional vehicles.
Krystal already has two factories in Brea. Those total about 260,000 square feet with multiple assembly lines, along with a service department, parts department, sales office, showroom and corporate headquarters.
The company, which employs about 800 people, counts annual sales of about $130 million, according to its Web site.
Jeff Chiate and Rick Ellison from Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s Irvine office represented Krystal in the building buy.
Costa Mesa-based Guthrie Development Co., the seller, was represented by Ben Seybold from the Anaheim office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. Guthrie bought the building in January for a reported $4.3 million.
Enter the Dragon
Plans are in the works to turn an Irvine furniture store into what’s being called the largest mixed martial arts training and fitness center in North America.
No Limits Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness Center of Irvine just signed a lease for a 25,494-square-foot building at 1962 Barranca Parkway, the former site of Marci’s Furniture Finds.
A big renovation is planned. The martial arts center is due to open in October. No Limits is adding locker rooms, offices, chiropractic services and a skin care clinic alongside enough gear to train a small army of ninjas.
The training and fitness center will include 8,000 square feet of wrestling mats, 100 kickboxing bags, a regulation boxing ring and an octagon training cage.
The center is set to be open to the public for mixed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, cardio kickboxing, Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling and Capoeira training, according to No Limits founder Jim Santaniello.
The company, which now has a center at 16752 Millikan Ave. in Irvine, also plans to open one in San Clemente.
No Limit’s five-year lease is valued at $1.8 million. John Collins, a broker in Voit Commercial Brokerage LP’s Irvine office, and Jeff Hirsch from the Newport Beach-based office of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. represented No Limits.
Phil Cohen of CB Richard Ellis’ Newport Beach office represented landlord Burtin Properties.
Irvine-based Ware Malcomb is the architect for the remodeling.
Office Buildings Sell
Two office buildings totaling about 270,000 square feet are changing hands, the result of the latest big national real estate investment trust acquisition.
Morgan Stanley Real Estate said late last month it was buying Glenborough Realty Trust, a San Mateo-based REIT that owns 45 properties nationally.
The company’s portfolio totals about 8 million square feet of space, with 2.3 million square feet in Southern California. The deal is valued at about $1.9 billion.
Glenborough’s local holdings include Newport Plaza, the 112,000-square-foot office building that serves as the corporate headquarters for homebuilder John Laing Homes, which recently became part of Dubai’s Emaar Properties.
The five-story building, at 895 Dove St., had average monthly rents of $2.50 per square foot last year and is full.
Glenborough bought Newport Plaza in late 2001 for $26.5 million.
The other site Morgan Stanley is getting is Centerstone Plaza, a four-building complex in Irvine along Barranca Parkway that totals 158,000 square feet. Rents there averaged $2.36 per square foot last year. The buildings are 98% full.
Morgan Stanley Real Estate has bought $88 billion in real estate worldwide and manages about $50 billion in real estate for clients.
Lennar Corp. has kicked off an estimated $48 million worth of improvements at A-Town, its urban redevelopment project in Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle.
Work under way includes putting in streets, medians, sidewalks, utilities and water and sewer systems, said Richard Knowland, an Aliso Viejo-based senior vice president with Miami’s Lennar.
Initial work is being done around State College Boulevard, Katella Avenue, Gene Autry Way and near the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway.
The work is being done in phases. Much of it will be done this year. Some other work in the area around A-Town, including street widening, signal and light installation, median upgrades and landscaping, will be done early next year.
Lennar plans to work at night and during off-hours to minimize the project’s impact on businesses, Knowland said.
A-Town consists of two parcels of land totaling 54 acres. It is expected to include up to 3,813 homes, including 14 condominium towers, and nearly 200,000 square feet of business and store space.
