Unions sell.

The local chapters of two large unions have sold property in the county, demonstrating that in some competitive real estate markets, properties with small buildings on large pieces of land become particularly attractive to buyers.

In a $2.75 million transaction, brothers Rudolph and Humberto Avila, owners of Los Altos and Wild West Boots, purchased a 1.7 acre site at 14910 Garfield Ave. in Paramount from United Auto Workers Local 887.

The brothers plan to demolish the current union meeting hall and build a 40,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center for their Paramount-based boot manufacturing company, said Grubb & Ellis Co. senior vice president Maury Gentile, who represented the union chapter. The sale price works out to about $37 per square-foot for the land, a price that Gentile said is consistent with similar properties sold in the peripheral area.

"We told the owner what the property was worth and they never imagined it would be worth that," said Gentile, of Grubb & Ellis' Torrance office. "This is part of the trend of land value superseding the value of the buildings."

Sean O'Leary and Mark Sokolowski also represented the union on the deal. Brian Denton, also of the Grubb & Ellis Torrance office, represented the buyer.

In the other union land deal, Los Angeles-based developer Witmer Development LLC purchased a 44,000-square-foot development site in downtown Los Angeles from Service Employees International Union Local 1877. The transaction for the unentitled site at 1247 West 7th St. was valued at $8.9 million.

Grubb & Ellis represented both sides of the transaction, with Gentile, Denton, Phillip Sample, Chris Caras, and Michael Shustak working on the deal. Witmer paid $200 per square-foot for the land and it plans to build a multi-unit condo project at the site, though there is no timetable for development. The existing 21,000-square-foot union building on the site will be demolished.

"The unions happen to own a lot of real estate surrounding downtown L.A.," Gentile said. "Two years ago these buildings were much more expensive than the land and now the trend has reversed."

Staff Reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [phone], ext. 263, or [e-mail].