Local News Briefs

Street Closures Pretty Much

Everywhere

Local Drivers encountered a large number of street closures this week, including Second Street, which is closed at the south end of downtown, where it meets Colorado Blvd. Colorado Blvd is of course closed in several places

Workers installing traffic circles on Michigan Avenue at 9th, 10th and 11th streets were chopping up the sidewalks.

Stret closures are detailed on the City of Santa Monica’s AM radio station, KFSM, 1440 on the AM dial. --David Ganezer

Big Black Building Sells for $90 million

New York real estate giant Tishman Speyer bought a prominent office building in Santa Monica, one of the hottest office leasing markets in the state.

Tishman bought 520 Broadway, a 113,000-square-foot building near the Santa Monica Freeway and the Third Street Promenade shopping and recreation district. The six-story structure was completed in 1981.

Terms of the sale by Vornado Realty Trust were not disclosed, but real estate experts familiar with Santa Monica valued the deal at more than $90 million. Vornado acquired the property in 2012 and conducted a $5-million renovation.

Tenants in the building include the Xbox video gaming division of Microsoft Corp., movie and television producer Zodiak USA and Boston Private Bank. It is more than 90% occupied.

Asking rents in the building are about $6 per square foot per month, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group. Average asking rents in Santa Monica are about $4.33 a foot, brokerage Cushman & Wakefield said.

Overall office vacancy in Santa Monica is 8.6%, about half of the Los Angeles County average of 16%, the brokerage said.

Colorado State signs Santa Monica

College linebacker

On Wednesday, first-year head coach Mike Bobo announced the signing of Santa Monica College linebacker Caleb Smith. Smith comes to Colorado State with three years of eligibility remaining, and he can play immediately.

In his lone year with the Corsairs’, Smith earned second-team all-conference while helping his team to a 7-4 record, including an undefeated 7-0 in conference play. Santa Monica College won its fourth consecutive conference championship but fell in the Pacific Division Championship Bowl.

Defensively, Smith racked up 44 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, in 11 games at SMC.

Smith, a graduate of City College Honors Preparatory Academy in Inglewood, Calif., is the 14th total signee and fifth from the state of California in the 2015 signing class, Bobo’s first as a head coach.

”Dance Moms” Star Opening Studio in SM

”Dance Moms” star Abby Lee Miller is bringing her east coast, in-your-face style to the west coast ... and setting up shop in L.A. Miller is opening up a branch of her dance studios in Santa Monica, which will be known as ALDC LA (Abby Lee Dance Company Los Angeles).