Capitol Records Tower Sold

The Capitol Records Tower, one of Hollywood’s most enduring landmarks, has been sold, but it also will retain its original use as an office building.
By: DANIEL MILLER: Los Angeles Business Journal Online
Capitol Records Inc.’s parent, EMI Group PLC, has agreed to sell the 13-story building and adjacent property to Argent Ventures LLC for $50 million. As part of the deal, the famed circular building will not be converted to condominiums as had been speculated but will be leased back to EMI so Capitol’s operations can remain there.

However, New York-based Argent Ventures, a commercial developer and property owner, will develop the remaining land on the two-acre parcel at Vine Street and Yucca Street, and a mixed-use development with a residential component is one possibility. The sale also includes a parking lot on Argyle Avenue.

Capitol Records and Capitol Studios will continue to occupy the tower at 1750 Vine St. as well as the Gogerty Building. EMI has agreed to a long-term lease with Argent, though terms of that deal have not been disclosed, said Chris Bonbright, chief executive at Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services Inc.

“One of the strong qualities of the buyer is that they are historically sensitive,” said Bonbright, who represented Argent in the deal.

Jeanne Meyer, EMI spokeswoman, said that the company did not actively seek a sale, but looked over several offers. “We made it very clear to several interested parties that we were only interested in the sale with an opportunity to remain in the building for many years to come,” she said.

The tower was built in 1956 and is meant to look like a stack of vinyl records. Musicians like Frank Sinatra and The Beach Boys recorded there.