Arixa Capital Advisors LLC, a private real estate firm based in Westwood, announced a $100 million joint venture with local private equity giant Oaktree Capital Management LP. The lender and the sponsor are pouncing on a market left unattended after the departures this spring of several regional banks.

The partnership, which was announced on Aug. 24, outlines the potential for future expansion and seeks to originate senior secured loans for residential and commercial real estate developments primarily in Southern California.

Seth Davis, managing director at Arixa, said working with Oaktree offers synergy. ‘‘They’re just familiar when they’re underwriting us and they’re looking at some of the loans we’re doing,” Davis said. ‘‘It’s all addresses and neighborhoods they’re familiar with.”

With the collapse of First Republic Bank and Silicon Valley Bank forcing regional banks to shave off capital commitments, alternative lenders like Arixa have become powerful players for a real estate market hungry for supply.

“With larger commercial and regional banks withdrawing or being restricted, there’s a vast opportunity for us to safely deploy capital,” said Greg Hebner, managing director at Arixa Capital.

This substantial capital will be deployed in a Los Angeles real estate market fragmented between the incorporated and unincorporated – a divide spurred by the recent implementation of Measure ULA. 

The citywide tax, effective from April 1, levies a 4% charge on both residential and commercial real estate sales between $5 and $10 million, and a 5.5% for properties valued above $10 million. 

Arixa has already seen transaction flow slow, and Hebner suggested the ULA tax may deter projects in Los Angeles entirely, consequently driving up prices in municipalities exempt from the tax.