Sold Off

Kind of inevitable; still sad.

Rhythm and Hues' 200,000-sq.-ft. office campus at 2100 E. Grand Ave. in El Segundo, Calif. has sold to a joint venture made up of Rockwood Capital and Marshall Property & Development for $25 million. The property was sold in an off-market transaction by 2100 Grand LLC, a related entity of the visual effects company Rhythm & Hues Studios.

... The company, which worked on the visual effects for the movie ‘Life of Pi,’ used the facility as its headquarters. At auction, Rhythm & Hues was purchased by an affiliate of Prana Studios.

“The deal was complex, time-sensitive and particularly challenging due to the bankruptcy,” said Lucent Capital Managing Director Steven Yazdani, in a statement. “Properties of this size and quality rarely trade without a national marketing campaign by a major brokerage firm. We were able to generate several, aggressive offers which met the seller’s expectations from all cash buyers.”

The buyer plans to invest up to $20 million in the redevelopment of the office campus, turning it into premier creative office space. Improvements will include interactive outdoor common areas, new tenant spaces an additional parking. ...

R & H was held up as a model company by lots of visual effects workers. As I've recounted, when DreamQuest Images was being merged with Disney Feature Animation in 2000, DQ employees stood up in meetings and pointed to Rhythm and Hues as the kind of company after which the Mouse should pattern its new visual effects division.

It didn't happen, and now R & H has faded into history and its place of business sold off. Nothing is forever.