2 Valley Business Groups Plan to Buy Office Building

The Valley Economic Development Center and the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, two of the Valley’s most visible business organizations, hope to team up to buy a $3.1-million office building in Van Nuys, officials said Monday.

Development center President Roberto Barragan said the organizations expect to close escrow this week on a 25,000-square-foot building at 5121 Van Nuys Blvd. that was formerly leased by the state.

He said the building would be purchased by a partnership made up of the alliance, the development center and Encino developer Rickey M. Gelb.

Bruce Ackerman, head of the Economic Alliance, said the deal is awaiting final approval from his board of directors.

Barragan said that his organization, a small business assistance center, has outgrown its current space in a nearby office building on Van Nuys Boulevard near the Ventura Freeway.

“We’ve expanded so much, particularly in the last year, that we’re out of space,” said Barragan, whose organization was once plagued by rising debts and a rash of staff departures.

“In the main office, we’ve gone from 25 [workers] to probably 35,” he said, noting that the group’s small business development center, work force development and small loan programs have all expanded within the past year.

He said the three partners will purchase the property with a $600,000 down payment and $2.5 million in financing from Wells Fargo.

He said the partnership would then lease the property back to the business groups.