Newton, Massachusetts-based Northland Investment Corp. has entered the California market with the $504 million acquisition of Thea at Metropolis in downtown Los Angeles.
Greenland U.S., a subsidiary of China’s Greenland Holding Group, sold the 59-story building. The transaction is one of the largest single-asset market-rate multifamily acquisitions in U.S. history, according to Northland.
Designed and built as for-sale condominiums before being converted to apartment homes after construction, the Thea tower, which was completed in 2020, is currently stabilized at 91% occupancy.
The property is located at 1000 8th Street in the heart of downtown L.A. It has 685 units and 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
The building has a 1.5-acre podium amenity deck with a resort-style pool and cabanas; catering kitchen; rooftop dog park; urban garden; and playground.
Thea also has eight penthouse units located on the top two floors.
Thea is part of a master planned community called the Metropolis, a 6.3-acre mixed-use development. The building is located two blocks away from L.A. Live, a 5.6 million square foot sports and entertainment complex that includes the Crypto.com Arena, Microsoft Theater and numerous restaurants and bars.
“In Thea, Northland secured an extraordinary opportunity to acquire the highest quality luxury apartment tower in the United States at a steeply discounted price,” Matthew Gottesdiener, chief executive officer of Northland, said in a statement. “The building’s spectacular design, condo execution and unparalleled amenities offer residents a next-level experience that will hold the test of time. Northland believes fervently in the enduring appeal of California and a vibrant future for Los Angeles, and we are encouraged to find these are contrarian opinions well compensated in the market today.”
Northland acquired Thea without any partners, investing through its discretionary funds. The majority of the equity invested in Thea came from Northland’s successful disposition of Hilands, an 826-unit, 1986 property in Tucson, Arizona that the firm acquired for $21 million in the early 1990s and sold this summer for $178 million.
“The acquisition of Thea represents an important evolutionary achievement for our firm,” said Gottesdiener. “Over the past decade, Northland has grown from a Class B suburban garden apartment investor with concentrated exposure in Austin, Florida, and New England, to a national owner, operator, and developer, with one of the highest quality diversified multifamily portfolios across now sixteen states.”
Greenland is not the only landlord putting up downtown L.A. towers for sale. Brookfield Properties has listed its 52-story office tower at 601 S. Figueroa St., which Newmark Group Inc.’s Kevin Shannon is marketing. ICO Group of Cos. has listed the 294-key Mayfair hotel at 1256 W. 7th St. for $70 million, or roughly $237,000 per room.
