Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund (CJUF) has provided preferred equity capital to a joint venture between The McGregor Company, Polis Builders Ltd. and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group (UIG) to begin development of One Santa Fe, a $160 million mixed-use project in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles.
The financing will enable the One Santa Fe development team to begin construction and site improvements this month on the fully entitled and permitted project on land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) spanning several blocks on Santa Fe Avenue between First and Fourth Streets.
The project is leased under a 78-year ground lease with the MTA, which is considering a direct connection from the property to a new terminal station for the Red Line Subway. The MTA anticipates subleasing 35,000 square feet of the project’s commercial space, with the balance of the space leased to retail tenants. The project is also located across the street from the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and the development has been designed in part to offset needs for student housing in the area.
When complete, the four-acre One Santa Fe will include 438 apartments and 78,620 square feet of office and
retail space, along with nearly 50,000 square feet of public outdoor space.
CJUF’s equity investment closed the financing gap for the project. Financing the housing portion are tax-exempt bonds issued by the California Housing Finance Agency and guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; a loan from the City of Los Angeles Housing Department, and low income housing tax credit equity provided by UIG.
The commercial component is being financed by a loan from the city; tax credit allocations provided by Clearinghouse CDFI, Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation and the Los Angeles Development Fund; and tax credit equity provided by UIG.
Designed by Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan, the six-story building is planned to feature an outdoor terrace, a grocery store, additional retail, an art gallery, a multi-use theater and a garden on the ground floor.
Locally based KTGY Group, Inc. is the executive architect for the project. KTGY has already completed construction drawings and the general contractor, Bernards Brothers Inc., has started predevelopment work onsite. The project is anticipated to be delivered by December 2014.