Ventus Group buys assemblage at “Fig” DTLA megaproject

Ventus Group Executives Scott Gale and John Booty with the site (Credit: Google Maps)

With support from the Los Angeles Planning Commission, Ventus Group is moving ahead with its plan to bring 300 hotel rooms and about 400 units of housing to an area near the University of Southern California on Figueroa Street. 

Now, the Irvine-based firm just purchased an eight-parcel portfolio on the 3900 block of Figueroa Street, where the “Fig” is set to rise, for $17.8 million, property records show. Combined, the portfolio spans about 100,000 square feet. The property is in a designated Opportunity Zone, and qualifies for city incentives though L.A.’s Transit Oriented Communities program.

Yet the largest parcel in that purchase — a 50,000-square-foot lot at 3976 Figueroa Street — is outside the proposed project boundaries. Ventus did not respond to requests for comment.

The project would include a cluster of seven-story buildings featuring a 298-room hotel, 200 units of student housing, 200 apartments, office, restaurant and retail space. The $300 million complex would include 82 apartments for low-income housing.

Steve Needleman, owner of Anjac Properties, sold the site. Deed records show he sold it through an LLC registered as Cast Real Estate Property Holdings, which is a subsidiary of Anjac. Needleman could not be reached.

The parcels are located in both a Tier 3 Transit-Oriented Communities zone and a qualified Opportunity Zone.

Ventus, led by Scott Gale and former USC quarterback John David Booty, has proposed building the massive mixed-use complex at the property, which is located across the street from the Banc of California Stadium.