LOS ANGELES — Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund (CJUF) has provided an undisclosed amount of preferred equity capital to launch development of the $160 million One Santa Fe, a 4-acre mixed-use development located in Los Angeles. A joint venture between The McGregor Co., Polis Builders and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group (UIG) is developing the project, which is slated to begin construction and site improvements this month.
One Santa Fe is located between First and Fourth streets on Santa Fe Avenue in Los Angeles, situated on land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The project is leased under a 78-year ground lease with the MTA, which is considering a potential future direct connection from the property to a new terminal station for the Red Line Subway.
Local architect Michael Maltzan designed the development, which will include 438 apartments, 20 percent of which will be affordable housing units, as well as 78,620 square feet of office and retail space and 50,000 square feet of public outdoor space. The MTA expects to sublease 35,000 square feet of One Santa Fe’s commercial space, with the balance of the space leased to community-serving retail tenants.
Plans call for the 6-story building to include amenities such as views of downtown and the river, a grocery store, an art gallery, a multi-use theater and a garden on the ground floor.
KTGY Group is the architect for the project and Bernards Brothers is the general contractor. Predevelopment work has commenced onsite, and completion is slated for December 2014.
CJUF’s preferred equity investment closed the financing gap for the project. Tax-exempt bonds issued by the California Housing Finance Agency and guaranteed by HUD, a loan from the City of Los Angeles Housing Department and Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity provided by UIG are financing the residential portion of the project.
A loan from the City of Los Angeles, New Markets Tax Credit allocations provided by Clearinghouse CDFI, Genesis LA Economic Growth Corp. and the Los Angeles Development Fund, and New Markets Tax Credit equity provided by UIG are financing the commercial component.
“One Santa Fe is truly transformative for Los Angeles,” said Bobby Turner, managing partner of CJUF, in a prepared statement. “It’s time to move this valuable development forward. The project will help meet the substantial demand for affordable and market-rate housing and create a new focal point for the neighborhood by bringing public transportation and new life to a piece of land that has sat underutilized for too long.”
— Savannah Duncan