Development Money in LA is Flowing. Here's Why
There's equity out there for developments in primary markets and favored asset classes; even in secondary and tertiary markets, deals are getting done. That's why we're excited to host Bisnow's LA Capital Markets Summit, tomorrow at the Intercontinental Century City, starting at 8am.
One of our panelists will be Calmwater Capital managing director Larry Grantham (with the Grantham girls). Larry, a portfolio manager responsible for originations, underwriting and asset management, tells us the independent investment firm is solely focused on real estate debt (like the $15M loan it just closed on Federal-Mogul's global HQ in Detroit.) Folks may know Calmwater better by its previous name: Karlin Real Estate Lending. The new name reflects some recently raised sources of capital, including an equity investment from a Top 20 university endowment and major credit lines from two global banks. Last year, Calmwater closed $357M in loans, and expects aggressive growth this year of up to $500M.
Mesa West Capital co-CEO Jeff Friedman, another panelist at our event, says that year-to-date, the firm has originated just under $1B of loans—primarily first mortgage loans on value-add properties on the coast—and is holding them on its balance sheet. That's similar with last year's pacing, he adds. In May, the firm opened an office in Chicago, covering that market as well as Denver. The new office has already closed four loans, including the regional HQ of Google. Jeff (pictured with wife Gisela, daughter Isabel and son Eli, and two of their friends in Whistler, Canada) also notes Mesa West has been much more active in multifamily financing this year—half of the deals it closed in the past three months have been on apartments in Dallas, Seattle, Chicago, New York and LA.
Colony Capital principal Paul Fuhrman, who's also speaking at our event tomorrow, tells us the firm is actively deploying a distressed credit fund, targeting investments in Europe and the US, and also growing its light industrial platform. Paul heads up US acquisitions for Colony, which just relocated to City National Plaza in DTLA from Santa Monica. The firm consummated a merger in April and is now a public company with $20B in assets under management. Join us tomorrow at the Intercontinental Century City for Bisnow's LA Capital Markets Summit starting at 8am. Sign up here!
