Here are the LA County’s top five retail investment sales of 2018

The top sale of 2018 was LVMH’s $245M purchase of this storefront on Rodeo Drive

The biggest retail investment trades in Los Angeles this year were one of two kinds of property — prime Rodeo Drive storefronts or large retail parks with high occupancy and stable tenants.

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy’s two big purchases for neighboring properties on Rodeo Drive topped all others across L.A. County in 2018, although it’s still unclear what the luxury goods super-giant has planned for them.

There were a number of large trades outside the top five. Artisan Realty Advisors shelled out $61 million for the two-building marketplace at 1520 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood in May. And in September, Kurt Rappaport paid $35.5 million for a retail space at 450 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills.

468 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills — Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy | $245M
By far the biggest sale of the year was LVMH’s purchase of this double lot on Rodeo Drive. The two-story building spans 22,270 square feet, which means the sale came to a whopping $11,001-per-square-foot. The purchase was made through an entity tied to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.

The two-story corner building was first listed in May for $300 million by a family trust that owned it for over 50 years. Brooks Brothers, the men’s clothier, had leased the space for the last 15 years and vacated it a month before the sale closed.

LVMH owns more than a dozen luxury brands besides Louis Vuitton and Hennessy, including Fendi, DKNY, and Christian Dior. All but DKNY already have storefronts on Rodeo Drive. Arnault first made his fortune in real estate before moving into the luxury goods space, so he may be making a pure real estate play given his other moves on Rodeo Drive lately.

456 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills — Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy | $110M
Months before making its blockbuster purchase of the former Brooks Brothers store, LVMH made headlines with its first nine-figure purchase of the year — right next door. The company paid the Sterling Organization $110 million for the 6,200-square-foot property. At $17,741-per-square-foot, the sale outweighs the Brooks Brothers purchase by $6,740-per-square-foot.

The two purchase are the third and fourth major buys on Rodeo Drive for LVMH in recent years. In 2016, it purchased another storefront for $122 million and has owned 319-323 N. Rodeo Drive since 2012.

Cerritos Towne Center, Cerritos — Utah State Retirement System | $97M
The largest traditional retail buy of the year was in Cerritos, a small city outside Anaheim. The Utah State Retirement System picked up this large shopping center in March from Gerrity Group, a Solana Beach-based firm. The shopping center, with more than a half-million square feet, is 99 percent leased to tenants including Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Starbucks. There’s also a movie theater on the property. Gerrity Group paid $87.5 million for Cerritos Towne Center in 2011.

457-459 N. Rodeo Drive — Crown Equity | $96M
Back on Rodeo Drive, Michael Shabani’s Crown Equity made a splash in October when it purchased two storefronts totaling around 11,600 square feet. The two stores are leased to clothiers Alexander McQueen and Brioni. The sale came out to around $8,600-per-square-foot.
The seller was Kathryn Lang of Lang & Lang Properties LLC. A couple months earlier, Beverly Hills-based Crown Equity signed high-end furniture retailer Luminaire to a 10-year lease at 8840 Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Gateway Towne Center, Compton — Clarion Partners | $85.5M
New York-based firm Clarion Partners picked up this 30-acre retail park in March for around $304 per square foot, for 282,000 square feet of rentable space. There are two buildings on the property. The 28 tenants there are mostly national corporations with high credit ratings, and include Target, Home Depot, and Best Buy. The seller was Prism Realty of Costa Mesa.

The top 5 Los Angeles retail sales in 2018