Samitaur Constructs Obtains $232M for Creative Office Portfolio

By Barbra Murray

Wrapper Tower

Square Mile Capital Management LLC recently co-originated $231.6 million in financing for a 319,000-square-foot creative office portfolio in Culver City, Calif., in metro Los Angeles. Square Mile joined Deutsche Bank in providing real estate developer and operator Samitaur Constructs with the funds.

The portfolio includes 5860 W. Jefferson Blvd., a 49,900-square-foot building leased in its entirety to Nike, as well as neighboring 5764 and 5792 W. Jefferson Blvd., which total approximately 88,900 square feet and count WeWork and Jukin Media as tenants. Wrapper Tower, a 180,500-square-foot project at 5790 W. Jefferson Blvd., completes the group. Designed by Eric Owen Moss Architects, the 16-story Wrapper Tower’s band-like, steel exoskeleton will give the building the appearance of a shiny new package, hastily wrapped in a smoky gray ribbon.

Square Mile hasn’t disclosed extensive details on the financing arrangement. However, Brad Cohen, senior managing director with Square Mile Capital Management, said in a prepared statement, “We believe this transaction demonstrates our platform’s ability to work on complex transactions and deliver creative, flexible solutions that allow us to challenge the market.”

Culver City creative

Samitaur’s Wrapper Tower will be the first creative office high-rise in Culver City, where the call for this office sub-type is only growing louder. “New projects loom on the horizon to fill demand in the major creative markets of Santa Monica, Culver City and Marina Del Rey/Venice,” according to a third quarter report by commercial real estate services firm Colliers.

Recent additions to the Culver City’s creative office market—redevelopments and new-builds alike—include Olive Hill Group’s Courtyard at Culver Pointe, which the company recently transformed from a traditional office property via $1.5 million in upgrades. Hackman Capital Partners is in the midst of building the mixed-use The Culver Steps, which will feature a 75,000-square-foot office segment that Amazon preleased earlier this year.

Square Mile wants to expand its activities in this high-demand creative office sector. “The LA. market has evolved into a powerhouse in attracting creative office space users. We expect the demand to continue for the near future,” Cohen told Commercial Property Executive. “This creates a very compelling investment opportunity for both developers and lenders. We have now established a solid presence in this market and we intend to further our investment here.”

Image courtesy of Eric Owen Moss Architects