Arts District Apartment, Once Slated For Reuse As Creative Office, To Be Sold In Foreclosure Sale

A partially complete adaptive reuse project in the Arts District is up for sale by its former lender, now owner. 

The property, two buildings at 800 and 810 Traction Ave., was transferred from a partnership between Livwrk and Daniel Kotzer to a fund controlled by Thorofare Capital via a deed in lieu of foreclosure in November, public records show. Thorofare did not respond to a request for comment from Bisnow. 

Cushman & Wakefield Vice Chairman Mike Condon and Senior Director Erica Finck are leading the charge to sell the roughly 58K SF property on behalf of the seller. 

A release circulated when New York-based Livwrk purchased the property, advertised under the name AtTraction, that noted both the five-story and two-story buildings that make up the property would have the potential for ground-level retail.

The property is being offered unpriced, Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director Erica Finck told Bisnow.  

But in a release announcing the news, Condon noted that "the deal structure [offers] an opportunity to buy the Arts Districts’ crown jewel at a basis comparable to the former lender’s." Thorofare announced in September 2021 that they offered $17.5M to the project in the form of an 18-month loan, putting maturity, without an extension, at March 2023. Livwrk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A bid date has not been set, but the team expects to market the property at least 60 days before taking bids, Finck said. The release also noted that seller financing was a possibility. 

Upgrades have been made to the property since Livwrk took ownership, but the build-out has left options open for the property to operate as something other than office in the future. A return to multifamily is possible, and Finck expects that a few bidders will have that end use in mind. 

"Based on the amazing location and the high demand for multifamily in such a walkable neighborhood, I think there are going to be a number of investors who look at the property from that lens," Finck said. 

Another option for the property could be to install a boutique hotel or members club concept, the release from Cushman said. 

The property hasn't been used as multifamily in years. The owner prior to Livwrk, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, served tenants with eviction notices in 2017. Livwrk bought the building in 2021, paying $19.5M. Construction to turn the property into a creative office was originally expected to wrap up in early 2023.

If completed, it would have been Livwrk's first project in the Arts District. Kotzer has already made a mark in Downtown LA as the founder of the Downtown Los Angeles production firm Willow Studios, which is headquartered in a building at 1345 Palmetto St. Kotzer's father, a businessman known for his lively television commercials, bought that building in 2000, the Real Deal previously reported.