The redevelopment will take place in two phases, Lala said. The first phase will be an $8 million investment in the Rusas and Maurice Fox buildings and 2857 E. Grand Blvd. Lala said they aim to break ground in the first quarter of 2020 and be done by the fourth quarter of that year.

The plan for phase one is to first stabilize the Rusas building, which is the only functional one of the portfolio and will serve as Method Development's new base. The building's only occupant — a Santa Monica-based scooter maintenance startup called Sweep — canceled its month-to-month lease after the developers bought the building. The startup had used the building as a warehouse charging station for Spin scooters before its contract with the shared scooter company was canceled, Zamir said.

"It was an underutilization of the space," she said.

The top floors will be used for office space, while the ground floor and mezzanine will be used for event space and community gathering, Zamir said.

The second phase comes at an expected cost of $12 million but is less concrete at this point, Lala said. It tentatively involves demolition of 2871 E. Grand Blvd. and 2881 E. Grand Blvd., and a ground-up development of an undecided number of rental units and ground-floor retail. That is expected to be done by the beginning of 2023.

Method Development closed on the purchase of the properties last month. The deal was a windfall for previous owner Jordan Wolfe, who sold the buildings for a total of $4.5 million after paying a total of $1.3 million just a few years ago.

Wolfe, a 2011 Crain's 20 in their 20s honoree, bought the Rusas Printing Building from Donald Rusas in 2015 for $650,000 and sold it for $2 million, according to city property records. Wolfe bought the other four buildings from Frank Gajar for $650,000 in 2017 and sold them for $2.5 million.