Month: July 2020

Purchase applications were down last week while refinancing rose (iStock) Homebuyers took some time off last week as homeowners got busy. An index tracking the volume of mortgage applications to buy homes fell last week by 6 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the first week of July. Read more Size of home purchase loans hits record…

A rendering of Times Mirror Square After a bit of arm twisting, Onni Group has agreed to reserve 34 “middle income” affordable units at its Times Mirror Square project in Downtown Los Angeles. The L.A. City Planning Commission approved the 1,130-unit project under that stipulation at a hearing on Tuesday, according to Commercial Observer. The…

The property at 21555 Oxnard Street (Credit: Google Maps) Since Anthem Blue Cross relocated to Campus @ Warner Center late last year, the health insurance provider’s former office property it vacated nearby has found itself in dire financial straits. A $120 million CMBS loan on that 450,000-square-foot building matured in December, and the owner, a…

712 Olive St. (Credit: Google Maps) Atlas Capital Group’s plan to transform two buildings in a changing part of downtown Los Angeles has hit a brick wall due to lawsuits. The New York City-based developer in 2017 began gutting a 99-year-old, six-story building at 712 South Olive Street and adjacent two-story structure at 410 W.…

WS Communities CEO Scott Walter and VP of Finance Gregory Proniloff, Madison Realty Capital’s Josh Zegen, 1433 Euclid Street in Santa Monica, 11611 Blucher Avenue in Granada Hills (Credit: Google Maps) New York-based Madison Realty Capital is continuing its West Coast expansion with another loan to landlord and developer WS Communities. Madison, a developer and…

Alexandria Real Estate Equities founder Joel Marcus and Alexandria Center for Life Sciences (Getty, Google Maps) The search for a cure for Covid-19 is lining the pockets of some landlords. While the pandemic wreaks financial havoc on hotels and retailers, landlords who cater to biotech and pharmaceutical tenants are seeing increased demand as companies research…

Nury Martinez The city of Los Angeles is taking applications for its $103 million rent relief program this week. It’s a chance for renters affected by the coronavirus pandemic to get up to $2,000 in rent subsidies. The five-day application period for the Emergency Renters Relief Program ends at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, according to…

Jose Huizar (Credit: Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) The mother and brother of Los Angeles Councilmember Jose Huizar may have been involved in his pay-to-play scheme, federal prosecutors say. Federal prosecutors have alleged in an affidavit that two unnamed relatives helped Huizar launder bribes he received from developers and other sources between 2014…

RTW Retailwinds CEO and CFO Sheamus Toal and a New York & Company store (Getty, LinkedIn) New York & Company’s parent company is the latest chain to file for bankruptcy as the coronavirus has piled additional pressure on an already challenging retail landscape. RTW Retailwinds, whose other brands include Fashion to Figure and Happy x…

Thomas Barrack, Residence Inn Cypress Los Alamitos and Sheraton San Jose Hotel (Getty, Google Maps, Marriott) When Colony Capital revealed in May that it was in discussions with lenders after having defaulted on $3.2 billion in hotel loans, the Tom Barrack-led firm cautioned “there can be no assurances that the company will be successful in…