Top Stories

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — Gemdale Properties and Investments, a subsidiary of Gemdale Corp., one of China’s largest real estate developers, and Los Angeles-based LaTerra Development have formed a joint venture to develop Deluxe Hollywood, a $125 million mixed-use project located in Hollywood. This project will be the first real estate investment in Hollywood by a major Chinese company. “This inaugural Los Angeles investment promises to be the first of many deals as we ramp up our capital investment and property development business in Los Angeles, a market that we are confident presents great value,” says Jason Zhu, CEO of Gemdale USA. The four-acre mixed-use project, located at 1350 N. Western Ave. at Sunset Boulevard, will include office, retail and multifamily space. The site is within two blocks of Icon at Sunset Bronson Studios, and is in close proximity to the Hollywood and Western station of Metro’s Red Line connecting to downtown Los Angeles. LaTerra Development is a residential and mixed-use development company with a focus on urban infill locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. Gemdale Properties and Investments is a leading real estate developer in the greater China region. Gemdale was founded in 1988 and is listed on …

NEW YORK — Berkadia has arranged two loans totaling $366.7 million for two Brookdale Senior Living portfolios consisting of 39 seniors housing properties. The two portfolios are located across 17 states, including California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington. Managing directors Heidi Brunet and Christopher Fenton of Berkadia’s Seniors Housing and Healthcare Group originated the financing for Brookdale (NYSE: BKD), which will use the loans to refinance existing debt on the properties. Brunet and Fenton secured a $226.4 million, 10-year loan through Berkadia’s Fannie Mae program for the first portfolio of 21 properties totaling 1,924 units. The portfolio, which has an average occupancy of 90.6 percent, consists of 5.7 percent independent living, 15.9 percent memory care and 78.4 percent assisted living units. The pair also closed a $140.3 million, seven-year loan through Berkadia’s Freddie Mac program for a portfolio of 18 properties. The portfolio, which consists of 1,190 units in total, comprises 22.9 percent memory care and 77.1 percent assisted living units. Average occupancy was 87.8 percent at time of closing. “Our team’s extensive experience working with seniors housing assets across the country allowed us to secure competitive loan terms for these expansive portfolios,” said Brunet. “We have …

NEWARK, CALIF. — Rouse Properties Inc. (NYSE: RSE), a retail REIT based in New York, has closed a new $135 million first mortgage loan for NewPark Mall, a 1 million-square-foot retail property located in Newark, roughly 25 miles south of Oakland in San Francisco’s East Bay market. Rouse Properties has withdrawn $114.3 million from the financing, with approximately $65 million of proceeds used to pay off the property’s previous mortgage loan and $49.3 million used for closing costs and general corporate purposes, including paying down the company’s revolving credit facility. The remainder of the refinancing will be used for renovations and additional leasing. The new loan has a three-year term and a one-year extension option. The non-recourse mortgage carries an interest rate at Libor plus 2.1 percent, with a forward starting swap fixed at 3.26 percent effective on Jan. 1, 2016. “This new loan facility represents a $70 million increase over our previous $65 million loan,” says John Wain, chief financial officer of Rouse Properties. “This clearly demonstrates the meaningful value creation we have already achieved with our significant renovation and repositioning initiative currently underway, which is Rouse’s largest planned capital investment in our portfolio.” Rouse Properties has recently arranged …

NEW YORK — Madison Realty Capital (MRC), an institutionally backed real estate investment firm, has provided first and second mortgage financing totaling $124 million for the acquisition and future renovation of a 15-building, 175,000-square-foot portfolio of residential and mixed-use properties in New York’s East Village. “This portfolio of properties in such prime locations in the East Village would be nearly impossible to replicate in today’s market,” says Josh Zegen, co-founder and managing principal of MRC. “We’re excited to offer a customized loan package to help the borrower enhance the value of the portfolio.” The portfolio has a mix of studio and one-bedroom units. The buildings are located in a neighborhood that is increasingly popular with young professionals and students due to its retail, restaurants, nightlife and proximity to New York University and the city’s employment centers. The acquisition was an off-market deal with long-term family owners. The borrower plans to update common areas of the buildings, renovate residential units to maximize square footage and lease up vacancies. Including this transaction, MRC has closed 24 debt investments totaling $590 million so far in 2015, consisting of special situation loan origination opportunities and loan acquisition deals. MRC is a New York-based real estate …

NEW YORK — HFF (NYSE: HFF) has secured a $110 million first mortgage financing for 180 Madison Avenue, an historic, 23-story, 280,953-square-foot office tower in Manhattan. 180 Madison Avenue is located at the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and East 34th Street in Manhattan’s Midtown South office submarket. The building, formerly known as The Lingerie Building, was historically the premier building for lingerie manufacturers and wholesalers in New York. Originally built in 1926, the property is in the final stages of a comprehensive renovation that has repositioned the asset as a best-in-class office building. Improvements include a lobby renovation, elevator modernization and window replacements, as well as various electrical upgrades. Recent rollover at the building, which is currently 72 percent leased, has enabled ownership to demolish and pre-build space as tenants’ leases expire. The property has become a desirable location for firms in the technology, advertising, media and information (TAMI) sectors that are concentrated in the Midtown South market, according to HFF. Two of the top five largest tenants located in the building, The Rubicon Project and Unified Social, are indicative of growing TAMI firms relocating to Midtown South. Both tenants signed leases at the property in the last few …