Dealmaker: BWE Secures $43M for Los Angeles Waterfront Apartment Community

(Illustration courtesy of BWE)

BWE, Cleveland, secured $43.4 million in acquisition financing for Villa Del Mar, a four-building, three-story apartment community with 209 adjacent marina boat slips in Marina del Ray, Calif.

Mike Guterman, senior vice president in BWE’s Los Angeles office, arranged the acquisition financing from a life company on behalf of VDM Partners, Huntington, Calif. The loan, which closed at a 70% loan-to-price ratio, has a five-year fixed term with prepayment flexibility and two years of interest-only payments.

Villa Del Mar is subject to a ground lease with the Los Angeles County which was extended in 2014. As part of the extension, the property’s previous ownership completed $27 million in renovations in 2017, while VDM Partners will conduct approximately $8.5 million in renovations to the marina boat slips by 2029 as required by the lease.

Guterman noted Villa Del Mar had not been on the market in more than 40 years. “By highlighting the intrinsic value of the real estate, we navigated the challenges of securing a deal on a unique property like Villa Del Mar, which possesses both a ground lease and a marina, to ensure our client got the best possible terms,” he said.

Constructed in 1972, Villa Del Mar consists of four three-story apartment buildings over at-grade parking, a five-story parking structure, and a 209-slip Marina. The property contains 198 one- and two-bedroom arrangements with 645 parking spots and 1,500 feet of frontage on the marina.