BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — Tinder founder Justin Mateen, his brother Tyler Mateen and their brother-in-law Pouya Abdi have acquired Wilshire Rodeo Plaza, a Class A office and retail complex located at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard in the posh Los Angeles suburb of Beverly Hills. Nuveen sold the asset for $211 million.
The 300,000-square-foot property includes three six-story office and retail buildings along Wilshire Boulevard and a three-story office building along Rodeo Drive.
The buyers plan to rebrand the property as One Rodeo, as well as upgrade and re-program the buildings to cater to luxury retail and office tenants. Current tenants include Merrill Lynch/Bank of America, USB, William Morris Endeavor and Encore Recordings.
The Mateen brothers and Abdi view the acquisition as a generational property, and hope to take advantage of the “flight to quality” in a struggling office sector with limited new Class A supply.
“Iconic buildings such as One Rodeo will continue to benefit from increased demand as the trend toward high-quality assets continues to unfold in a post-COVID world,” says Tyler Mateen, who is CEO of Cannon TTM, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm.
“We are grateful to be acquiring these buildings at a time when institutional investors feel pressure to reduce their office footprint,” adds Justin Mateen, who in addition to dating app Tinder is also the founder of venture capital firm JAM Fund. “We look forward to giving the retail spaces the love and attention they deserve as Rodeo Drive retail is fully leased and our buildings are the only natural continuation.”
Rodeo Drive is one of the most expensive retail markets in the country. With rents averaging $925 per square foot, the street ranks third in the United States behind only Upper Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue in New York City, according to the most recent edition of Cushman & Wakefield’s annual Main Streets Across the World report.
Quantum Capital Partners advised on the debt for the buyers, who received an undisclosed amount of financing from JP Morgan.
— Katie Sloan and Amy Works