A $61.5 million financing package for the key second phase of West Harbor, the 42-acre open-air retail/mixed-use project now under construction in San Pedro on the Port of Los Angeles waterfront, has been closed by Bayview PACE.
The package includes $10 million in PACE financing from Bayview PACE and a $51.5 million senior loan, provided in December 2024, by Oceanview Life and Annuity Co.
The development is more than 80 percent pre-leased. The first phase of the building is complete, and the second phase, funded by Bayview, is under construction and expected to open early next year.
West Harbor is a public-private partnership between a joint venture between San Pedro, California-based Jerico Development, and The Ratkovich Company of Los Angeles and the Port of Los Angeles.
According to Anne Hill, SVP and head of C-PACE for Bayview PACE, “C-PACE lending is having a moment, and gaining popularity.”
Its total volume of lending since inception jumped 35% from $7.25 billion in 2023 to $9.8 billion in 2024, according to C-PACE Alliance, as other commercial lending sources have tightened.
“While it is gaining popularity across all commercial property types, mixed-use projects like West Harbor are increasingly turning to C-PACE as a component of the capital stack,” Hill told GlobeSt.com.
“In fact, West Harbor's financing with C-PACE demonstrates a lot of its attractions: Deals are growing in size to the 8- and 9-figure range, and C-PACE is seen by many as a normalizing part of their deal structures.
“West Harbor is utilizing C-PACE in tranches, which is attractive for phased construction, and we’ve done that on other recent deals such as our $137 million funding for a 402-room Westin resort in Florida.”
C-PACE's flexibility is gaining supporters, too, Hill said, because it is fixed non-recourse financing, and banks appreciate that it complements traditional construction loans, allowing them to avoid syndication, and it does not require intercreditor agreements.
“West Harbor is a one-of-a-kind mixed-use retail and 'eatertainment' experience that's built on years of the original tenants' popularity,” Hill said.
“This major redevelopment also leverages a beautiful setting on the Los Angeles harbor where visitors can enjoy the scenes of a working port while they enjoy dining, recreation, music, and events.”
West Harbor will be a mix of waterfront restaurants and retail. Plans call for 117,205 square feet of leasable building space and 204,000 square feet of ground area with a 6,200-seat amphitheater.
There will be a one-mile-long waterfront promenade, a 1,200-linear-foot public dock for boat access, more than 200,000 square feet of waterfront attractions and excursions, a 175-foot Ferris wheel and other amenities.
Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based MATT Construction is the general contractor for the project, and the architect is Studio One Eleven of Long Beach, Calif. The leasing broker for the property is Retail Insite of Solana Beach.
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