Meridian Capital Lines Up $105M for SoCal Office Refi

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

SAG-AFTRA Plaza

Meridian Capital Group has facilitated a $105 million financing deal for the SAG-AFTRA Plaza, an 11-story, 548,000-square-foot office property in Los Angeles, for an affiliate of J.H. Snyder Co., which has owned the building for more than 40 years.

Seth Grossman, Meridian’s senior managing director, along with Steve Edelstein and Jackie Tran, company vice presidents, arranged a 10-year loan with a life insurance company, which features a fixed rate of below 4 percent and full-term interest-only payments.

“For decades, through many real estate cycles, we have taken tremendous pride in owning and managing this best-in-class asset, and we could not be happier with the results of the refinance,” Lon Snyder, J.H. Snyder Co.’ senior partner, said in a prepared statement. “The Meridian team diligently canvassed the market on our behalf bringing an array of different options. From their initial engagement through assisting with post-closing items, they worked around the clock to ensure satisfaction.”

In addition to housing its namesake—the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists—the SAG-AFTRA Plaza is home to a number of international entertainment, media, cultural and communication-oriented firms.

Part of An L.A. Legacy

Located at 5757 Wilshire Blvd., the property boasts 28,000 square feet of street-front restaurant and retail space and is considered one of the top buildings along the Miracle Mile, a stretch of Wilshire Boulevard that is home to the La Brea Tar Pits pavilion, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Petersen Automotive Museum.

“Spanning many decades, the J.H. Snyder Co. developed millions of square feet of Class A real estate along Wilshire Blvd., helping form the Miracle Mile into what it is today,” Grossman said. “This refinance assists with the continuance of that formation, as this financing was critical in facilitating a necessary lot-split, which will result in further development by their firm on the newly created parcel. It’s a privilege as an intermediary to work with such a historically successful, sophisticated and well-respected ownership team.”

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is slated to open in 2019 and will be only a few blocks away from the prominent office building.

These companies have worked together many times in the past. In December, Meridian Capital Group secured a $68 million bridge loan for a Class A office building in the North Hollywood area of Los Angeles on behalf of J. H. Snyder Co.

In May, Meridian Capital Group arranged $13 million in refinancing for Windsor Suites, a mixed-use hotel and multifamily property in downtown Philadelphia.

Image courtesy of Meridian Capital Group