WS Communities Secures $50M Refi for 59 Units in LA
By Greg Cornfield March 9, 2022 7:20 pm
reprints
WS Communities, the owner of a 59-unit mid-rise in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles’ Westside, has secured a $50.3 million recapitalization that will help significantly update the property.
The local investment firm landed the three-year, floating-rate senior bridge loan, according to Gortikov Capital, which represented the landlord in securing the financing. Property records show Ready Capital provided the $45 million senior loan portion of the recapitalization.
Some of the financing will be used to extensively renovate the interior and the common areas of Luxe Villas at 11640 Mayfield Avenue. It was first completed in 2006 and is comprised of one- and two-bedroom units. The development is located less than a half-mile from the 405 and 10 freeways, and 1 mile from University of California, Los Angeles and Santa Monica College.
Gortikov Capital’s Bryan Gortikov said the investment shows the persistent multifamily interest and demand on L.A., particularly on the Westside.
“It’s only about 15 years old and it still makes sense to go and thoroughly renovate it because there’s so much demand,” Gortikov said. “That’s exacerbated by how hard it is to find land, build new buildings, how construction costs are getting out of hand. It makes sense to fully renovate this beautiful high-end building, and if that doesn’t tell you what’s going on with rents in Los Angeles, then I don’t know what would.”
He added there’s “so much money” and so few available deals on the Westside, both for renters and investors, that he believes this kind of demand will remain for a very long time.
WS Communities is one of the most active multifamily developers and investors on L.A.’s Westside. Most recently, Madison Realty Capital agreed to provide $125 million for WS Communities to buy full interest in multifamily developments in Santa Monica and on the Westside, and also for construction of two other nearby projects.
The company is an extension of prominent Santa Monica firms NMS Properties and WSC Communities, run by Neil Shekhter. WS is run by CEO Scott Walter, who was previously an executive at NMS Properties.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
