LOS ANGELES—Canadian investor Onni Group is quickly becoming one of the most prominent developers in Downtown Los Angeles. The developer behind LEVEL purchased the Los Angeles Times Building in September for a reported $105 million and has now expanded into the Arts District with the purchase of a 38,266-square-foot development site. Onni purchased the parcel from Core Development Group for an undisclosed sum in an off-market transaction.
“Core Development is a believer in Downtown Los Angeles and in this neighborhood, and the idea of having Onni Group come to this neighborhood and do a quality project was really exciting for the seller,” Brandon Gill, a broker at CBRE that represented Core Development in the transaction, tells GlobeSt.com. Core purchased the property in 2014, and had intended to develop it, until Onni showed interest in the site. “Core Development owns the Art House down the street and three other buildings around the Art House, and I think that they were more comfortable owning existing buildings,” adds Gill. “They have vacancies in these other properties, and they were focused more on stabilizing these other buildings. Although the capabilities were there to do a ground-up project, the priority at this time was to focus on stabilizing these other buildings.”
Onni Group has not disclosed its plans for the property, but one just has to look at the firm's past projects to imagine the quality development that it will bring to the market. “You can look at some of the projects that they have done. They are a very impressive and active group that has invested significantly in Downtown Los Angeles,” says Gill. “They are part of the evolution that we have experienced, and they have been trying to find the right opportunity in this neighborhood. Onni will create a thoughtful and high-quality caliber project.”
Onni Group had been looking for the right development site in the Arts District before settling on this site, and it is no surprise that they were looking. Several well-known developers have been buying development sites in the Arts District, and the neighborhood is expected to become the next development frontier in the DTLA. Hudson, ASB, Shorenstein, Avalon Bay and MSB Capital are among the developers that are currently active in the neighborhood. “The list of developers that have projects in the Arts District is really an impressive group,” says Gill. “You are seeing a lot of people that want to be part of the synergy in the neighborhood. This neighborhood is definitely in process right now, and I don't think we have seen the potential of this neighborhood yet. There are definitely some impressive names helping this story and narrative, and they see that this is going to be a very special place.”
Gill represented the seller in the transaction along with CBRE's Brandon Burns and Jae Yoo.
LOS ANGELES—Canadian investor Onni Group is quickly becoming one of the most prominent developers in Downtown Los Angeles. The developer behind LEVEL purchased the Los Angeles Times Building in September for a reported $105 million and has now expanded into the Arts District with the purchase of a 38,266-square-foot development site. Onni purchased the parcel from Core Development Group for an undisclosed sum in an off-market transaction.
“Core Development is a believer in Downtown Los Angeles and in this neighborhood, and the idea of having Onni Group come to this neighborhood and do a quality project was really exciting for the seller,” Brandon Gill, a broker at CBRE that represented Core Development in the transaction, tells GlobeSt.com. Core purchased the property in 2014, and had intended to develop it, until Onni showed interest in the site. “Core Development owns the Art House down the street and three other buildings around the Art House, and I think that they were more comfortable owning existing buildings,” adds Gill. “They have vacancies in these other properties, and they were focused more on stabilizing these other buildings. Although the capabilities were there to do a ground-up project, the priority at this time was to focus on stabilizing these other buildings.”
Onni Group has not disclosed its plans for the property, but one just has to look at the firm's past projects to imagine the quality development that it will bring to the market. “You can look at some of the projects that they have done. They are a very impressive and active group that has invested significantly in Downtown Los Angeles,” says Gill. “They are part of the evolution that we have experienced, and they have been trying to find the right opportunity in this neighborhood. Onni will create a thoughtful and high-quality caliber project.”
Onni Group had been looking for the right development site in the Arts District before settling on this site, and it is no surprise that they were looking. Several well-known developers have been buying development sites in the Arts District, and the neighborhood is expected to become the next development frontier in the DTLA. Hudson, ASB, Shorenstein, Avalon Bay and MSB Capital are among the developers that are currently active in the neighborhood. “The list of developers that have projects in the Arts District is really an impressive group,” says Gill. “You are seeing a lot of people that want to be part of the synergy in the neighborhood. This neighborhood is definitely in process right now, and I don't think we have seen the potential of this neighborhood yet. There are definitely some impressive names helping this story and narrative, and they see that this is going to be a very special place.”
Gill represented the seller in the transaction along with CBRE's Brandon Burns and Jae Yoo.
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