Remember a couple months ago when a $280 million loan on the Slatkin brothers’ Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach was sent to special servicing? The brothers, then, said it was a disagreement over an extension stipulation, and called the servicer’s position “unnecessarily aggressive.”
There’s an update from Thomas Slatkin, who tells TRD that “replacement financing in excess of $280 million has been arranged with a well-known lender and is scheduled to close September 30, at which point the senior loan will be repaid in full.”
The brothers have another loan on the luxe Santa Monica hotels — a $120 million mezzanine loan that is not in default, per Slatkin. And, the beachfront hotels are doing well, he contends.
“July and August were among their strongest summer months in years, with occupancy exceeding 80 percent and average daily rates above $950,” he said.
On the land next door, where the brothers hope to develop branded residences, Slatkin said they tapped Eastdil to shop around for construction financing.
Casa del Mar has 129 rooms and suites, and Shutters on the Beach has 198. The chic sister hotels are at 1910 Ocean Way and One Pico Boulevard.
Aflalos, Harkhams looking for WeHo buyer
A retail and office spot on Melrose Avenue is still on the market after asking about close to $25 million, or more than $1,300 per square foot, for the past eight months or so. The WeHo property is owned by two prominent L.A. real estate families: the Aflalos and Harkhams. Sammy Aflalo confirmed.
Occupants include Babyletto, L.A. Sandwich Bar and Sweet Lady Jane; two suites are vacant.
A couple months ago, and a couple minutes away, a retail spot occupied by French fashion house Jacquemus, traded hands for $29 million, or a very-pricey $7,250 per square foot.
There was a reason it was so pricey … Jacquemus’ rent is more than the typical because the prior landlord and the tenant had a deal that the landlord wouldn’t develop another piece of real estate on the lot, a person familiar said.
The Aflalos and Harkhams venture well beyond retail real estate. Last year they started looking to sell four parcels entitled for a combined 368 homes in Beverly Hills.
Some food for thought
Brokers are increasingly leaning into the owner-user wave. (The latest we reported on was L.A. Care’s purchase of the defaulted loan on an office and data center on the outskirts of downtown). A brochure marketing 11520 Jefferson Boulevard, a Culver City office building reads: “Apple & Sony own ‘Office’ in Culver. You should too.”
Action at 2121 AOS
Another day, another landlord suing a tenant who isn’t paying up. This time it is one of the landlords. Irvine Company, owned by the country’s richest developer Don Bren, sued a tenant at its famed 2121 Avenue of the Stars. The behemoth claims the tenant called Formation House owes half a million dollars.
The lawsuit is short and did not include a copy of the lease the two parties inked. Rent at the glass tower that overlooks the Fox Studio Lot and was once called Fox Plaza — and famous as the setting of blockbuster movie “Die Hard” — is unknown. But the typical Century City tower can command $7 to $10 per square foot per month.
PwC recently inked an around $200 million, 15-year deal to lease 150,000 square feet of space there, leaving its post in downtown Los Angeles. The rough math on that put the price at $8 per square foot.
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