This Week's LA Deal Sheet
Forest City Enterprises' $100M Blossom Plaza in Chinatown has officially begun pre-leasing now that it's been completed. Bisnow caught up with the players to get the details and find out what impact this new development will have on the area.
Blossom Plaza, at the intersection of Broadway and College Street, has 237 apartments and 19k SF of retail space.
It sits on nearly two acres near the Metro Gold Line Chinatown station.
Forest City VP of development Frank Frallicciardi says Forest City is “proud and excited” to be part of the neighborhood. Chinatown is not far from Dodgers Stadium, adjacent to the Downtown Civic Center and near “the transformative 20-plus acre State Historic Park” and the Gold Line, according to Frank.
Forest City has a strong track record for transformative projects in previously overlooked underdeveloped metropolitan areas, Frank says.
JLL VP Lorena Tomb (pictured above with her husband) and JLL senior associate Danielle Cornwell are marketing the retail space for lease in Blossom Plaza on behalf of Forest City.
Lorena says Chinatown is in the midst of a revitalization, and Blossom Plaza will be a great addition to the neighborhood.
In addition to the new residential units coming to the neighborhood, the new retail corridor and outdoor community space will connect the Chinatown Gold Line station to Broadway Street, according to Lorena.
The retail focus is on food and beverage offerings.
"This is what brings people together after all," Lorena says. "With restaurant and bar entitled spaces, we are already seeing a great number of chefs and bar operators interested in joining the recent young up-and-coming star chefs who have entered the Chinatown market."
These include: Little Jewel of New Orleans with Marcus Christiana Beniger, Pok Pok with Andy Ricker, Ramen Champ with Alvin Cailan and Burgerlords with the Guerrero brothers, according to Lorena.
The complex's plaza will connect to the adjacent train station and directly into a pedestrian paseo between its two buildings.
SALES
Stepp Commercial sold a 10-unit apartment property (1846 10th St) in Santa Monica for $4.2M.
The transaction closed at a cap rate of 3.6% and the price was $420k/unit, which is the top of the market for similar properties in the neighborhood.
The two-story building, which consists of two-bedroom, one-bathroom units, was built in 1958.
The property was recently renovated and upgraded with individual washers and dryers in each unit as well as custom retro-style finishes and new electrical panels.
Stepp Commercial principal Kimberly Roberts Stepp repped both parties, including the seller, Idaho Land Management, and private buyers from LA.
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Charles Dunn Co sold a 5k SF single-tenant, triple net leased property occupied by Union Bank (9738 Alondra Blvd) in Bellflower for $3.19M.
The transaction closed at a cap rate of 4.43% and sold for $638/SF.
Charles Dunn Co's Kyle Gulock and Jason Cope repped both the seller, a private investor from Orange County, and the buyer, a Chinese investor.
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CBRE Group’s Capital Markets Los Angeles Retail Investment Properties team sold a Wells Fargo-occupied property (10781-10789 West Pico Blvd and 2380 Glendon Ave) in West LA across the street from Westside Pavilion to Harbor Group International for $11M.
CBRE Capital Markets experts Daniel Riley and Austin Wolitarsky repped the seller, LDW Pico Properties, a family-owned real estate investment firm. The buyer, Harbor Group, is a Norfolk, VA-based real estate investor.
FINANCING
Sonnenblick-Eichner Co arranged $65M of first mortgage debt for refinancing the 341-room Marriott Monterey Hotel in downtown Monterey.
The 10-year, fixed-rate financing was provided by a European Money Center bank and was underwritten at a debt yield below 10%.
The AAA-rated, Four Diamond, 10-story hotel is adjacent to the Monterey Conference Center in the heart of the downtown retail district.
The hotel has 16,500 SF of meeting space, a spa, two restaurants and subterranean parking for 142 cars.
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NorthMarq Capital’s Ory Schwartz, the managing director of its LA regional office, arranged the $13.6M refinance of Marshalls Plaza, a 151,286 SF retail property (707-815 West 2nd St).
The transaction was structured with a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule.
NorthMarq arranged financing for the borrower through its relationship with a CMBS lender.
Marshalls, DD’s Discounts and Dollar Tree are the property’s major tenants.
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NorthMarq Capital VP Mark Dodson arranged for the acquisition and bridge financing of $2.28M for a portfolio of two multifamily properties (1744 East 2nd St and 563 Cherry Ave) in Long Beach. They have a combined 20 units.
The transaction was structured with a two-year interest-only term. NorthMarq arranged financing for the borrower through its relationship with a regional bank.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Jay Levine was named as associate of investment sales at Stepp Commercial. He will focus on apartment investment sales transactions in West Hollywood as well as other Westside locations.
Previously, Jay was an executive producer in the music industry and worked as a consultant with the chairman of both Warner Music Group and Columbia Records.
