Kennedy Wilson, a publicly traded international real estate investment and services company, has teamed up with development firm RECP/Urban Partners to purchase out of foreclosure the remaining 167 condominium units at Santee Village in downtown Los Angeles. The seller was Bank of America. Financial terms of the deal, which includes 18,694 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail space, were not disclosed.
Santee Village, a $130 million mixed-use development, includes three historic buildings at the northern end of the fashion and garment district. According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, MJW Investments converted the buildings into residential lofts several years ago. The development went into foreclosure in 2008.
Originally built by business tycoon Michael J. Connell in the 1910s, the buildings were purchased in 1998 and underwent a nearly 10-year process of restoration and adaptation to residential loft living.
“Santee Village is one of the last opportunities in the current real estate cycle to acquire a condo property in the downtown L.A. area,” stated Robert Hart, president and CEO of Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Management Group, in a press release.
“Over $15 billion has been invested in downtown Los Angeles in the past dozen years, and while the area has always been the employment, transportation and cultural arts hub of the region, it has now exploded as a tourist destination with approximately 14.6 million visitors each year,” added Hart.
The residential population downtown has blossomed to 42,000 and its daytime population is over 500,000. “Santee Village has a thriving, neighborly community and we feel fortunate to be able to see the project through to completion by offering the condominium homes at prices that meet the needs of the market,” stated Hart.
The residences feature concrete floors, oversized industrial windows and 10 to 14 ft. vaulted ceilings. The buildings share a central courtyard with the neighboring Santee Court apartments.
The acquisition marks the third partnership between Kennedy Wilson and RECP/Urban Partners. Deutsche Bank provided the debt financing. Mark Tarczynski and Adam Tischer of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction.
The stock price of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) closed at $10.71 per share on Tuesday, Nov. 2, up from $9.87 a year earlier.