Witkoff Group’s Steve Witkoff and a rendering of the project at 500 Broadway
The Witkoff Group landed a mezzanine construction loan for its 249-unit luxury apartment project in Downtown Santa Monica.
The New York-based firm, led by founder Steve Witkoff, is building the mixed-use complex — which includes more than 50,000 square feet of retail space — at 500 Broadway.
South Korea-based Mirae Asset Daewoo provided the $31 million loan. Bridgerock Realty Advisors arranged the financing, according to a Bridgerock release.
In May, Mirae and Deutsche Bank extended $300 million in debt to Witkoff Group and Howard Lorber’s New Valley Group for the West Hollywood Edition project, a 13-story luxury hotel and condo development.
The most recent project is the only multifamily development with more than 200 units in Downtown Santa Monica, according to Bridgerock. It will have 56,000 square feet of retail space and 524 parking spaces. It’s a few blocks from the Downtown Santa Monica Metro Expo Line stop, as well as the Santa Monica Place shopping mall and Santa Monica Pier.
Witkoff has been involved with the project since 2017. KRE Capital and Dune Real Estate Partners first proposed the development, but Witkoff Group then came on board as the developer.
All 249 units are market-rate. Santa Monica officials approved the project so long as Witkoff funded a five-story, 64-unit affordable apartment complex at 1626 Lincoln Boulevard, called the Arroyo. The Arroyo opened in December and is managed by the Community Corporation of Santa Monica.
Witkoff Group broke ground last year and at the time, completion was anticipated sometime next year.
The firm is most active in New York, but Witkoff said earlier this year that high land and construction costs there have forced him to look to other cities. Besides Los Angeles, Witkoff Group is active in Florida and Las Vegas.
“I can’t do anything in this town today,” he said at a February forum event. “The land is too expensive.”
Construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall found last year that construction costs in L.A. are even higher than New York. The study put L.A. behind only San Francisco and Portland for costs.