Elad Group Acquires Condo Tower for $140M

LOS ANGELES-The Elad Group has joined the list of New York City-based developers investing in the luxury multifamily market in Los Angeles, spending $140 million for a site on Wilshire Boulevard between Beverly Hills and Westwood Village. The site is earmarked for a 24-story condominium tower called the Carlyle on Wilshire. Elad estimates the total project costs at $330 million for the 78-unit luxury condominium tower, which the original developers were marketing as a circa 1920s and 1930s New York City design adapted for present day Los Angeles.

Elad bought the property from Wilshire Carlyle Partners of Los Angeles. According to Michael Rosenfeld, co-CEO of Wilshire Carlyle Partners, the $140-million purchase price includes the land, design and site excavation costs. Rosesfeld is president of Woodridge Capital, one of the original development partners for the project. Long-time local developer Michael Talla was also on the original development team.

Preliminary plans for the Carlyle call it a "Park Avenue-inspired" project, with units ranging from 2,500 sf to 3,500 sf and 20 "maid units." The development is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2009.

Mike Naftali, president and CEO of Elad, says that his development firm liked the Carlyle site for its location, with views ranging from Wilshire Corridor and the Santa Monica Hills to the Pacific Ocean, as well as for its fit into the company's strategy. Elad is focusing on acquiring the best sites "in highly competitive markets" to develop high-end luxury product in the US and abroad, Naftali explains.

Naftali says that, in addition to its plans for the Carlyle, the Elad Group envisions Los Angeles as a target market for the company to introduce the Plaza brand of mixed-use hotel and residential development. Elad acquired New York City's Plaza Hotel in 2004 and is "actively reviewing potential sites" for the Plaza brand in Los Angeles, Naftali says.