'Seabiscuit' production company trotting to Westwood.

SPYGLASS Entertainment will be moving to Westwood from the Walt Disney Co. lot in Burbank this month, having signed a seven-year deal for 17,500 square feet at Murdock Plaza.

The production company, whose recent theatrical releases include "Seabiscuit" and "Bruce Almighty," ended its exclusive distribution deal with Disney last year.

"We're going to be dealing with a lot of people on a first-look basis," said Gary Barber, chief executive of Spyglass. "(The building) has all the access we need."

The deal drops the vacancy rate for the 220,000-square-foot building at 10900 Wilshire Blvd. to 10 percent, about half of Westwood's overall second quarter vacancy rate, according to Grubb & Ellis Co.

While financial terms were not disclosed, the deal was worth about $4 million, according to a source familiar with the transaction.

Cushman & Wakefield Inc.'s Anthony Gatti and Jerry Hess represented the landlord, 10900 Wilshire LLC, while Les Small & Co.'s Les Small represented the tenant.

Secure Lease

Symantec Corp. has completed its purchase of a nine-acre parcel adjacent to the Corporate Pointe office development in Culver City from Bank of Montreal.

The Cupertino-based technology company paid between $15 million and $20 million for the property at the southwest corner of Bristol Parkway and Slauson Avenue, according to sources familiar with the deal, and will attempt to get entitlements for a corporate campus of up to 550,000 square feet.

"We bought it unentitled and are optimistic that we will work with Culver City to get a satisfactory outcome," said Gerald Porter, vice chairman at CRESA Partners, who, with CRESA's Matthew Miller, represented Symantec. Neither Porter nor Miller would disclose the purchase price.

With the network security software REAL ESTATE maker's lease for about 140,000 square feet in Santa Monica's Colorado Center running until late 2007, "that will be plenty of time to get the entitlements and build the building," said Porter.

With the deal done, campuses for two Northern California-based technology companies totaling 1,800 people will bookend the 2.5-mile Marina (90) Freeway. Last month, Redwood City-based Electronic Arts Inc. signed a 10-year deal to occupy 243,000 square feet at the Water's Edge office complex in Playa Vista. Though financial terms were not disclosed, the lease was worth about $80 million, according to a source close to the deal.

"It's a fantastic endorsement of the Westside market," said Porter.

The deal also ends a decade of uncertainty for the site, which makes up most of the undeveloped land at the Corporate Pointe project just east of the San Diego (405) Freeway. Although Canada-based Bramalea California went into bankruptcy in 1993 after developing Corporate Pointe's six buildings totaling 1.6 million square feet, Bank of Montreal foreclosed on the property just last year.

Perkins Coie's Bruce Sherman represented the Bank of Montreal on the Symantec deal.

All's Wells

Wells Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. has purchased the 176,000-square-foot building at 1055 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, marking the second Tri-Cities purchase for the Atlanta-based REIT in eight months.

Wells bought the building, which is about 80 percent occupied and whose largest tenant is technology firm Paracel, from Koll Development Co,, which developed the property two years ago. Wells is paying about $216 a square foot for the building, slightly more than the $200 a foot and $188 a foot Maguire Properties Inc. and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors Inc. recently paid for two Brand Boulevard office buildings in nearby Glendale.

In December, Wells paid $157 million, or about $311 a foot, for the Nestle USA building in Glendale.

"There are all sorts of things to like (about the Tri-Cities)," said Joe Pangburn, director of acquisitions at Wells. "They've got access to executive housing as well as a good employee base and transportation system."

Secured Capital Corp.'s Jay Borzi, Steve Silk and Steven Somer and CB Richard Ellis' Patrick Church and Kevin Duffy represented the seller while Wells was represented internally.

Another Round

Orange County liquor store operator Jack Hanshaw bought the 114,000-square-foot Santa Fe Springs Promenade Shopping Center for $13.7 million and will spend an additional $1.5 million upgrading the 40-year-old property. The complex at 11442-11570 Telegraph Road, which is anchored by a Jax Market and a Bank of America, is 6 percent vacant, with rents averaging $1.40 a foot.

"Several leases are coming up and there's some vacancy--that added value to the center," said George Prince, president of Irvine-based Prince Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., who represented the seller, WTC Santa Fe Springs Investments Ltd. "He believes he can increase the rents as the leases turn over."

Hanshaw, who owns a handful of smaller retail centers in the area, also owns four liquor stores in Orange County. First Team Real Estate Inc.'s Jeff Arcuri represented the buyer.

Doctor's Orders

JLM Realty bought Balboa Medical Plaza in Granada Hills from Condor Partners for $13.9 million, or about $210 a foot. The 66,000-square-foot building at 10605 Balboa Blvd., whose tenants include Los Angeles County and Kaiser Permanente, is 90 percent leased.

"It's the class-A building for the area," said Bob Safai, president at Madison Partners, who, with Madison Partners' Lynwood Fields, represented both sides of the deal. "It's a stable asset with great tenants.

Staff reporter Danny King can be reached at [phone] ext. 230, or at [e-mail].