Terms of the loan, which was arranged by principal Mark Ritchie in Newmark's Los Angeles office, were not disclosed. Citing confidentiality agreements, Ritchie declines to comment on the financing other than to say that the rate was competitive.

Ritchie says, however, that the Westside Los Angeles office market in which the Water Garden complex is located "is considered to be one of the most solid in the country." Recent market reports from major brokerage houses peg the office vacancy rate at about 6.3% in the overall Westside office market, which includes a dozen or so submarkets totaling between 45 million and 47 million sf. In the 7.5-million-sf Santa Monica submarket, the rate is below 6%, with brokers describing it as one of the strongest submarkets within the overall Westside.

Phase one of the Water Garden, one of the signature office complexes on the Westside, was originally developed in 1990 by L.A.'s J.H. Snyder Co., which later sold it. Phase two was developed in 2000.

The complex comprises six buildings of six stories each and two others of five stories each, plus three levels of underground parking, all on a 17-acre campus. The project typically runs at an occupancy well beyond the 90% mark and commands some of the top rents in the region.