One Santa Fe, a sprawling 500,000-square-foot apartment community in the Arts District, has been purchased by Boston real estate firm Berkshire Group in a deal valued at approximately $200 million.
The acquisition of the 438-unit complex is part of the firm’s focus on buying multifamily properties across the country and adds to a $6.3 billion national real estate portfolio managed by Berkshire.
One Santa Fe, designed by Los Feliz-based Michael Maltzan Architecture, covers four city blocks between the bridges at First and Fourth streets and comprises two buildings situated around a commercial plaza.
The property was sold by development partners McGregor Brown Co. of Century City, Culver City’s Cowley Real Estate Partners and downtown’s Polis Builders along with capital partner Canyon Partners Real Estate of Century City. The land beneath the buildings, owned by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was not part of the transaction.
A coalition of Arts District developers and architects submitted letters of opposition against the One Santa Fe development at a July 2014 meeting with city planners. They expressed concerns that One Santa Fe was designed unimaginatively and therefore had no place in the Arts District.
Mark Rothenberg, president of architecture firm RSA Architects Inc., called the building’s design “pedestrian and ordinary.” Despite the criticisms, the developers pointed out they had made a special effort to lease One Santa Fe’s 88 affordable units to low-income area artists though a partnership with the city’s Cultural Affairs Department.
Ignoring aesthetic critiques, in its announcement of the sale Berkshire focused on what the development could offer tenants.
“The Arts District of Los Angeles offers a rich quality of life for residents drawn to the bustling restaurant, retail and nightlife scene in the immediate neighborhood in close proximity to the heart of downtown Los Angeles,” said Eric Schrumpf, Berkshire’s senior vice president of multifamily acquisitions. He added that with more than 80,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial and retail space, One Santa Fe offers numerous conveniences.
“Larger size and prime location were prerequisites for Berkshire buying anywhere in Los Angeles,” said Kitty Wallace, a senior vice president at the Brentwood office of real estate firm Colliers International.
Three other multifamily properties are being developed in the Arts District, which will bring about 1,500 apartments to the neighborhood.
