LOS ANGELES-A joint venture of Kennedy Wilson and RECP/UrbanPartners has acquired 167 condo units and 18,694 square feet ofretail space at the Santee Village development in Downtown L.A. inan REO sale by Bank of America. Robert Hart, president and CEO ofKennedy Wilson Multifamily Management Group, calls the project “oneof the last opportunities in the current real estate cycle toacquire a condo property in the downtown L.A. area.”

Hart points out that more than $15 billion has been invested inDowntown Los Angeles in the past dozen years, and while the areahas always been the employment, transportation and cultural artshub of the region, it has now developed into a tourist destinationwith approximately 14.6 million visitors each year. “Downtown’sresidential population has blossomed to 42,000 and its daytimepopulation is over 500,000,” Hart notes.

Santee Village is composed of three buildings located at thenorthern end of the fashion and garment district and are designatedas local historic monuments. Originally built by business tycoonMichael J. Connell in the 1910s, the buildings were purchased in1998 and underwent a nearly 10 year process of restoration andadaptation to residential loft living. The residences featureconcrete floors, oversized industrial windows and 10-foot to14-foot vaulted ceilings. The buildings share a central courtyardwith the neighboring Santee Court apartments.