CB team relocates to Sperry Van Ness.

A brokerage team from CB Richard Ellis has joined Sperry Van Ness, forming a unit handling multi-family properties based in the brokerage's Woodland Hills office.

Don Hudson, a CB veteran who had managed CB's Sherman Oaks office before returning to sales, will head the team as senior vice president.

Hudson will be joined by Rory Ferlauto, vice president, and Nancy Uy, senior advisor.

Ferlauto, who has worked in the industry since 1994, joined CB in 1999 and has been responsible for about $500 million in multifamily building and land sales transactions since then.

Uy, who joined CB in 1992, had worked on the office leasing team and later, joined Ferlauto's multi-family team.

Hudson had been working in the area of multi-family sales immediately before leaving CB.

"About a year and a half ago, I approached (CB senior managing director) Bart Reinhard and said I wanted to transition back into sales because I thought I'd seen something I wanted to take advantage of and that was this incredible opportunity in multi-family," said Hudson.

Hudson, who had worked in the office sector before moving over to manage the CB Sherman Oaks office, noted that $35 million in annual fees have been paid on multi-family transactions in the San Fernando Valley.

"It's a fractured market. There's no dominant player. It seemed like there was a clearer opportunity to succeed quickly," Hudson added.

Irvine-based Sperry Van Ness re-established its Valley office about three years ago.

"The startup was such a success, we ended up moving that location to Warner Center about a year ago," said David Rich, senior vice president who heads the Valley operation.

With the addition of the new team, the brokerage' s Valley operation will total about 19 agents spanning office, retail and multi-family specialties.

Although the brokerage has individual brokers who specialize in the product type, Hudson's is the first team devoted to multi-family properties.

Rich noted that the Valley has led other areas of L.A. in the volume of multi-family transactions.

"The hold period for property in the Valley is a little less. Investors who buy on the West Side tend to be long term holders," said Rich. As with other properties, cap rates have fallen to record lows for multi-family properties, but the brokers said that, with interest rates continuing to remain low, the demand has not let up.

"Interest rates continue to remain low, and even though we keep seeing apartment cap rates dropping, the momentum in the market is incredible, and the fundamentals will always be strong," said Ferlauto.

Burbank Sale

A 135,000-square-foot industrial building in Burbank was sold for $14.5 million.

The property, at 2980 San Fernando Road, was renovated in 2004, and new office and manufacturing space was added. It is occupied by Senior Aerospace.

John Minervini, Steve Algermissen, Robin Dodson and Erik Larson, all of Cushman & Wakefield, represented both the buyer, First Industrial Realty Trust, and the seller, The Uhlmann Offices.

Calabasas Deal

Alcatel Internetworking has subleased 18,800-square-feet of one of its Calabasas facilities to HorseTV Media Group Inc.

Total consideration for the five year lease at 26850 Agoura Road is about $1.3 million.

The space had been occupied by Zylan, which was acquired by Alcatel.

Another 7,626 square feet of remaining space from that former lease is being marketed by GVA DAUM.

Alcatel occupies a 130,000 square foot building across the street.

Bram White, executive vice president at DAUM's Camarillo office, represented both the tenant and the sublessor in the deal. White worked with Andrew Maxon of GVA Williams in Stanford, Conn. on the tenant representation and with Stuart Scott, also of DAUM's Camarillo office, and Bryan San Angelo, with GVA Cawley in Dallas, on the sublessor side.

Senior Reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at [phone] or at [e-mail].