L.A. Developer Primestor Closes $215M Investment Fund

Los Angeles is set to gain some much-needed new mixed-income housing with the closing of real estate firm Primestor’s nine-figure development fund. 

The Culver City, Calif.-based firm’s Urban Vision Fund I closed after raising $215 million over the previous two years for transit-oriented multifamily projects, The Real Deal reported. That includes $100 million from Sherman Oaks-based Belay Investment Group, $25 million from  Swiss alternative investment company LGT Capital Partners, as well as investments from Weingart and Scan foundations. 

The rest of the contributors were not disclosed. Primestor had originally targeted $300 million for the fund, according to a spring 2023 announcement from the firm, though it’s unclear why the fund closed at $215 million instead.

Primestor plans to invest the cash reserve into projects in “underserved” areas around L.A., particularly near public transit hubs in the lead-up to the 2028 Summer Olympics, with seven development sites included in the fund so far, per TRD. Eventually, the firm said it hopes to build some 1,500 housing units across the city over the next eight years. 

A spokesperson for Primestor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Aside from its Urban Vision I Fund projects, Primestor has had its hands full with developments and acquisitions across L.A. lately. That includes its redevelopment of Panorama Mall, in the San Fernando Valley, into Panorama City Center — a sprawling 17-acre, mixed-use district with thousands of residential units, a hotel, and hundreds of thousands of square feet in retail, office and entertainment space. 

Primestor is also acquiring more traditional retail space in Southern California. Last spring it paid $90 million for Esplanade Shopping Center, a 357,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored plaza in Oxnard.

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.