ARDEN PAYS $64 MILLION FOR TOWER AT WARNER CENTER.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX

Commercial real estate executives at some big companies shared two things last week: Warner Center and writer's cramp.

A flurry of deals resulted in escrow papers and purchase contracts being signed for high-profile properties in the west San Fernando Valley business community.

By week's end, Arden Realty Inc. had paid $64 million for Warner Corporate Center, a 253,698-square-foot, 12-story tower at 21300 Victory Blvd.

It's 96.5 percent occupied with a diverse tenant mix, including First Health, McDonald's Corp. and Zurich American Insurance.

Howard Stern, Arden's head of acquisitions, could not be happier. He calls Warner Center the Century City of the West Valley.

``We've been trying to make inroads into Warner Center for quite a while,'' he said. ``We're looking for properties with a stable tenant roster and occupancy that will help us make our foray into Warner Center.''

Arden bought the property from London-based Grosvenor Group, which said it decided to sell after achieving its leasing goals.

``Our original strategy following acquisition was to stabilize this property. Given the current strength of the markets and our recent successful leasing efforts, we have been able to achieve our strategy with excellent results,'' said Mark Preston, president of Grosvenor's USA operation.

The Los Angeles Basin will also remain one of the company's core markets.

The tower was built in 1988.

Mark Leonard, senior vice president, and his team at CB Richard Ellis represented Grosvenor.

On Friday, it was learned that Santa Monica-based Douglas Emmett & Co. had entered a purchase agreement with Beacon Capital Partners of Boston to buy the Trillium high-rise complex for $162 million.

The Trillium complex, 650,000-plus square feet, is almost next door to Arden's property.

Neither Douglas Emmett nor Beacon Capital executives were talking Friday.

But Stern was willing to give Douglas Emmett, which will own more than 2 million square feet of Warner Center high-rise space after the deal closes, some props for the ``Titanic'' deal.

``They can be the James Cameron of Warner Center, the king of the world,'' he said, referring to the movie directed by Cameron.

The ink is not ready to stop flowing either.

A contract was either signed on Friday or pens will soon be put to papers for the sale of the 21st Century Insurance Plaza complex on Owensmouth Avenue to J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. The seller is Century City-based Bentley Forbes LLC. That property has two 11-story towers.

And a few blocks away at LNR Warner Center, three buildings totaling nearly 450,000 square feet are in play.

Credit Suisse First Boston currently owns the property and the bidding process is drawing to a close.

``We anticipate selecting a buyer in the next couple of weeks and there is substantial interest,'' said a source at Beta West Ltd. in Denver, which is advising Credit Suisse on the sale.

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com