Controversial multifamily developer WS Communities has secured a $44 million loan to refinance two development projects in Santa Monica.
The senior loan was provided by New York-based Lightstone Capital, Lightstone Group’s real estate debt platform that launched earlier this year. The firms, which are working together for the first time, announced the financing deal Monday.
WS was started as a spinoff firm of Neil Shekhter’s NMS Properties. Both NMS and WS have been subject to lawsuits alleging impropriety. In January, the Santa Monica city attorney filed a lawsuit against Adam Shekhter, Neil Shekhter’s son, and two others, claiming that WS used “unlawful tactics” to push tenants out. Neil Shekhter is a principal at WS Communities. For years, Neil Shekhter was also embroiled in a bitter dispute with former joint-venture partner, AEW Capital Management.
WS plans to deploy the capital toward two development projects, located at 1650 Lincoln Boulevard and 1543 – 1547 7th Street. The project on Lincoln Boulevard will include 98 residential units and about 6,370 square feet of retail, spread across a five-story building. On 7th Street, the firm is planning a 100-unit building 4,440 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
Both projects will include an affordable component.
In a statement, Lightstone Capital’s Eugene Rozovsky said the firm sees “a lot of opportunities in the Los Angeles market,” specifically Santa Monica.
Ethan Blum and Justin Piasecki of Avison Young, in conjunction with Rahim Thobani of RST Capital Partners, brokered the deal.
Despite ongoing legal battles, WS has been actively pursuing development projects on the Westside. The firm is eyeing more than a dozen future projects, including a 94-unit residential building at 501 Broadway.
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