Former headquarters of Carroll Shelby sold
The former Marina del Rey headquarters of automotive legend Carroll Shelby was sold along with two office buildings for $10.7 million.
Santa Monica investment firm Luzzatto Co. bought the properties on Princeton Drive from a limited liability company, real estate brokerage Lee & Associates said.
The previous owners acquired them in early 2012 for $6.7 million and set out to remodel the buildings and reposition them as offices for creative firms.
The buildings at 1038 and 1040 Princeton are still vacant, but the former Shelby headquarters at 1042 Princeton is fully leased to online vendor Blowfish Shoes, architecture firm Mix StudioWorks and film production company Kennedy Marshall Co.
Built in the 1950s, the buildings are made of red brick and have high ceilings, Lee & Associates said.
Shelby, once a race car driver, set up shop for his fledgling car company Shelby American at 1042 Princeton in March 1962, his website said. That year he introduced his first Cobra sports car, and in 1963 a Cobra won the U.S. Road Racing Championship.
The industrial and office complex had previously been leased by playboy, race car driver and entrepreneur Lance Reventlow, according to books on Shelby. Reventlow’s company created the Scarab, an open-wheel race car once driven by Shelby. Shelby died in 2012.
Princeton Drive is referred to in Shelby lore as being in Venice. The short street, south of the intersection of Washington and Lincoln boulevards, is now generally considered part of Marina del Rey.
Twitter: @rogervincent
