California Landmark Acquires 120-Unit Apartment Complex in LA's Koreatown for $23.75 Million

LOS ANGELES - April 25, 2016 - PRLog -- Real estate development and investment firm California Landmark Group (CLG) has acquired a 120-unit apartment community in the Koreatown district of Los Angeles from a private investor in an off-market transaction valued at $23.75 million.

Built in 1971, the Lafayette Park Apartments is located on a one-acre lot at 349 S. Lafayette Park Place, one block north of 6th Street.    The multifamily community features a mix of one-bedroom floorplans, perfectly suited to the growing number of young men and women who are moving into the area.

"Koreatown is one of the most in-demand rental markets in Los Angeles," said CLG President Ken Kahan.   "Served by the Metro Rail's Purple line, which provides easy access to Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown also boasts one of the highest concentrations of restaurants and nightclubs in Southern California."

This vibrant social infrastructure has helped to attract a new group of renters to Koreatown that is younger and typically single.  According to census figures, approximately one-third of the 120,000 Koreatown residents are between 19 and 34.

"Our goal is to reinvigorate this asset to bring it back to its mid-century design and meet the demands of this growing young demographic in Koreatown.  When complete, the quality of this highly renovated apartment building will be on par with new multifamily projects currently under construction, but at more reasonable rental rates." added Kahan.

CLG will implement a $4 million capital improvement program over the next several years that will include extensive renovation of the building exterior, pool area and clubhouse.  Interior unit improvements will include new appliance packages, stone countertops, cabinetry, flooring, lighting and fixtures.

The acquisition was financed with a $17.5 million first mortgage loan from Los Angeles-based Mesa West Capital.   "Based on our experience with CLG on another multifamily reposition, we are confident in their ability to execute this business plan, reposition the asset, and take advantage of a fundamentally sound multifamily market experiencing impressive rental growth," said Mesa West Vice President Brandon Bachner who originated the financing.

Stewart Weston, senior vice president investments in the Newport Beach, CA office of Marcus and Millichap represented CLG in the transaction.

About California Landmark

CLG http://www.californialandmark.com is a Los Angeles-based real estate operating company that has acquired, repositioned and developed more than $750 million worth of luxury multifamily and Class A commercial real estate assets throughout California over the past three decades.

About Mesa West Capital, LLC

Mesa West Capital (http://www.mesawestcapital.com) is a privately held debt fund manager and portfolio lender with more than $3.5 billion in assets under management.  With offices in Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, Mesa West has been one of the leading providers of commercial real estate debt since its founding in 2004. Mesa West provides non-recourse first mortgage loans for core/core-plus, value-added or transitional properties throughout the United States. Our lending portfolio includes all major property types with loan sizes ranging from $10 million up to $200 million. Since inception, the firm has sourced and closed more than 200 transactions totaling in excess of $6 billion.