Inside Brightstone's Huge Santa Monica Play

LOS ANGELES—Brightstone Capital Partners has acquired the Lantana Media Center, a four-building 478,713-square-foot media campus on 12 acres in Santa Monica, from Artisan Realty Advisors. The sales price was not disclosed, but sources unrelated to the deal tell GlobeSt.com that Brightstone purchased the asset for $401 million, and makes it one of the largest value-add transactions in Los Angeles this year. Mesa West Capital provided $283 million of debt for the acquisition and the renovation.

“The Lantana Media Campus is ideally located in the heart of Santa Monica's 'Media District,'” Steve Fried, a principal at Mesa West Capital, tells GlobeSt.com. “Three of the four buildings at the campus are well occupied by large tenants on long-term leases and the sponsor has a comprehensive business plan to substantially renovate the remaining building into high-end creative office space.” Fried and Jason Bressler of Mesa West secured the capital on behalf of the borrower.

Brightstone secured a floating-rate, non-recourse for the property, and the lender says the debt “will capitalize a portion of their acquisition costs as well as future dollars to execute the value-add business plan.” Mesa West already had a strong relationship with the borrower, making this a natural deal. “Other lenders were looking at the deal but due to existing relationships with both the mortgage broker and sponsor we were able to put together a bid, which made sense for all parties,” says the lender.

Brightstone will spend several million dollars renovating the property aimed at driving creative occupancy at the property. The investor will renovate the lobbies, elevators and restrooms, and will add enhancements to the property interior and courtyards. They will also add an amenity package to the property. Brightstone declined to comment on the acquisition or its specific renovation plans.

Santa Monica is one of the hottest office markets, especially for creative tenants, in Los Angeles. It is has a dearth of quality supply and commands some of the highest rents in the Los Angeles market. The current tenant mix at the property includes Beachbody, which signed a 133,000-square-foot lease last year.

LOS ANGELES—Brightstone Capital Partners has acquired the Lantana Media Center, a four-building 478,713-square-foot media campus on 12 acres in Santa Monica, from Artisan Realty Advisors. The sales price was not disclosed, but sources unrelated to the deal tell GlobeSt.com that Brightstone purchased the asset for $401 million, and makes it one of the largest value-add transactions in Los Angeles this year. Mesa West Capital provided $283 million of debt for the acquisition and the renovation.

“The Lantana Media Campus is ideally located in the heart of Santa Monica's 'Media District,'” Steve Fried, a principal at Mesa West Capital, tells GlobeSt.com. “Three of the four buildings at the campus are well occupied by large tenants on long-term leases and the sponsor has a comprehensive business plan to substantially renovate the remaining building into high-end creative office space.” Fried and Jason Bressler of Mesa West secured the capital on behalf of the borrower.

Brightstone secured a floating-rate, non-recourse for the property, and the lender says the debt “will capitalize a portion of their acquisition costs as well as future dollars to execute the value-add business plan.” Mesa West already had a strong relationship with the borrower, making this a natural deal. “Other lenders were looking at the deal but due to existing relationships with both the mortgage broker and sponsor we were able to put together a bid, which made sense for all parties,” says the lender.

Brightstone will spend several million dollars renovating the property aimed at driving creative occupancy at the property. The investor will renovate the lobbies, elevators and restrooms, and will add enhancements to the property interior and courtyards. They will also add an amenity package to the property. Brightstone declined to comment on the acquisition or its specific renovation plans.

Santa Monica is one of the hottest office markets, especially for creative tenants, in Los Angeles. It is has a dearth of quality supply and commands some of the highest rents in the Los Angeles market. The current tenant mix at the property includes Beachbody, which signed a 133,000-square-foot lease last year.