Square Mile Lends $133M on Former LA Times Printing Facility
The loan finances the acquisition and redevelopment of a former Los Angeles Times printing facility
By Cathy Cunningham November 30, 2017 11:00 am
reprints
Square Mile Capital Management has provided a $133 million loan secured for the acquisition and redevelopment of The Press—a 420,000-square foot creative office property redevelopment in Costa Mesa, Calif., Commercial Observer can first report.
Invesco Real Estate and SteelWave recently acquired the property—formerly a Los Angeles Times printing facility—from Tribune Media and Kearny Real Estate in an off-market deal. Square Mile’s loan financed the joint venture’s acquisition and will also fund construction costs and leasing costs to redevelop and stabilize the property, which is directly adjacent to SteelWave’s Hive project—a 180,000 square foot creative campus that is home to the Los Angeles Chargers‘ headquarters and training facility.
“We were especially drawn to this transaction by the opportunity to back two market-leading investors, developers, and operators who each bring recent, directly applicable experience to the table,” said Michael Mestel, a principal at Square Mile. “Between Invesco Real Estate’s highly successful redevelopment of Apollo at Rosecrans in El Segundo and SteelWave’s current project next door at Hive, this is the ideal team to unlock the site’s potential and deliver market-leading product.”
HFF’s John Rose, Todd Sugimoto, Patrick Burger and Olga Walsh negotiated the financing on behalf of the borrower.
The site includes a 250,000-square-foot industrial building, a 112,000-square-foot office building, as well as an adjacent 4-acre site. The immediate plan is to redevelop approximately 420,000 square feet of creative office space and retail—including a food hall, but the site allows for an additional 230,000 square feet in future development.
“We saw an immense potential in The Press and our vision is to redevelop the asset to be the single most significant creative office opportunity in Orange County, if not all of Southern California,” said Seth Hiromura, the managing director of acquisitions and development at SteelWave, in an announcement regarding the acquisition.
The redevelopment marks SteelWave’s first joint venture with Invesco and will be complete within two years.
“By combining the existing structure’s heavy industrial feel with Class-A creative office amenities and finishes, SteelWave and Invesco Real Estate are positioned to create a unique product that has thrived in markets like West Los Angeles and San Diego but doesn’t currently exist in Orange County,” Daniel Neumann, a vice president at Square Mile, said. “With an abundance of retail and recreational amenities on-site, The Press will create a true campus environment that we believe will be well received by prospective tenants.”
Jonathan Hastanan, a vice president of acquisitions and development at SteelWave, said the project also “pays tribute to the history of the building by embracing its character, making it unique to the region.”
