Roosevelt Lofts to Sell? Court Set to Rule on Settlement

Eric Richardson [ Flickr ]

The 220-unit Roosevelt Lofts entered bankruptcy in April of 2009.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The Roosevelt Lofts' two-year-long stint in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings could be coming to an end.

Lawyers for developer Milbank Real Estate and lender Bank of America will take an all-too-familiar trip to Judge Geraldine Mund's Sherman Oaks courtroom on Friday in hopes of securing approval for a $95 million sale of the 222-unit residential project at 7th and Flower.

Hoping to buy the property is Greystar , a national multifamily real estate company that already picked up the Title Guarantee Lofts at 5th and Hill and the Great Republic Lofts at 8th and Spring.

At least $68 million of that purchase price will go to Bank of America, which has fought vigorously to take control of the building since it entered bankruptcy. Approximately $16 million would go to other firms owed money by the project.

The Roosevelt was designed as a condo project, but is currently leasing units on the 3rd through 8th floors. Some construction still remains on the building's upper floors.

6:30pm — Let's dig a little deeper here...

The sale agreement gives Greystar two options: buy the 222 residential units for $89 million, or the whole building (including retail) for $95 million. The company chose the latter. Still, using that $89 million number gives a valuation of $400 per unit for the residential. That's a pricey purchase.

What evidence suggests the building is worth it? A rental roll attached to the court documents shows 80 units currently occupied, at an average of $2.32 per square foot. Leases signed in 2011 are slightly north of that, at $2.36 per foot. The 25 leases signed since April 1 range from $2.16 to $2.83 per foot, with an average of $2.44.

All told, the residential units are currently bringing in $189,000 each month, with retail income adding in another $37,000.

Thanks for the update. I love those details.

They probably will stay as rentals. The front units are pretty cool, however the ones facing the air shaft are DISMAL. I can't see them ever selling those

In an effort to prevent spam, blogdowntown commenting requires that Javascript be enabled. Please check your browser settings and try again.

YOUR IDENTITY:

Why sign in? We believe that the best conversation takes place between people.

COMMENT GUIDELINES:

Keep it civil, everyone. If you're attacking people instead of arguments, or being overly profane, expect your comment to get deleted.

Comments should be on topic for the story they are posted on or they will be removed.

Use the live preview below to see how your comment will look before posting.

Related: