Jamison Properties Seals Acquisition of California Market Center

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 5/16/2005

Jamison Properties has completed its previously announced purchase of the California Market Center from dmg world media and Hertz Investment Group.

The agreement was signed April 28. The parties did not disclose the purchase price, but media reports placed it at $135 million, said Deirdre Mendoza, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles-based center.

Formerly called the CaliforniaMart, the center showcases West Coast fashion and accessories lines. In 2003, it added 240,000 square feet of gift and home showroom space and underwent its name change. The center now offers 100,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, according to the Tradeshow Week Major Exhibit Hall Directory.

New General Manager John Kim said Jamison, which owns 90 buildings in the Los Angeles area, views the property as a long-term investment. The center will continue its yearly schedule of markets and tradeshows, including an apparel market June 10–14 and the Los Angeles Gift & Home Market July 19–26, held in cooperation with the California Gift Show.

The center's new management will work with surrounding fashion buildings through the Intersection, a collaboration of downtown building owners and government officials working to drive traffic and resources to the fashion district.

Since dmg held a minority stake in the center, it "didn't sell the building so much as Hertz Investment Group decided they were interested in an offer that was presented to them," said Mia Eng, dmg corporate communications director.

Eng added that the sale doesn't signal a retreat from the Southern California market. The California Gift Show, which takes place twice a year at the Los Angeles Convention Center (and is operated by George Little Management on behalf of dmg), is one of dmg's largest exhibitions.

Karina Nichols of Hertz Investment Group did not return calls from TSW for comment.