BEVERLY HILLS, CA-What some insiders consider one of the highest profile real estate properties in the US—9900 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills—has been acquired by major trophy property investors from Hong Kong and Singapore for $148.3 million. Purchased for $500 million in 2007 by British developers Nicholas and Christian Candy and their CPC Group, as GlobeSt.com previously reported, the property fell into foreclosure early this year and was acquired by Carlos Slim’s Banco Inbursa, one of the lenders.
Banco Inbursa set up a private bidding auction administered by Eastdil Secured and law firm Skadden Arps that was won by Joint Treasure International Ltd., a Hong Kong-based private equity firm specializing in global real estate that represents major family investors. Law firm Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis advised Joint Treasure in the transaction.
In this transaction, Joint Treasure was acting on behalf of three of its consortium partners: Chow Tai Fook Group of Hong Kong, the holding company for publicly held New World Group, a company with investments ranging from transportation to hotels and department stores; Wee Cho Yaw Family Group of Singapore that invests in banks, commercial properties and hotels; and David Chiu of Far East Consortium International Ltd., a commercial property and hotel developer listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The investors plan to create a landmark development on the eight-acre site which sits at the prominent intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. “This is an incomparable site that cannot be replicated and we intend to build a superb project offering world class luxury residences,” says Daniel Yiu, senior advisor to Joint Treasure. He notes that the investor group is familiar with the city because of its investment in the Regent Beverly Hills Hotel in 1995 still under ownership. “Our investor group is interested only in premier properties in premier locations,” he emphasized.
The 9900 Wilshire plan by Architect Richard Meier, who designed the Getty Center in Los Angeles, was approved by the City of Beverly Hills in 2008 for 235 condominiums and 17,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space set amidst extensive gardens. The size of the site and the “lavish planned gardens” will encourage far more outdoor living than is available in most high rise condominiums, a decided advantage for buyers moving from large Beverly Hills homes, says Yiu.
Other US properties that the Joint Treasure International consortium has acquired for its investors include the New York Four Seasons Hotel and two New York City apartment and condominium buildings, the Horizon and Park Avenue Court. The group also financed and launched development of a 76-acre, 12-city block mixed-use project on South Riverside Drive in New York City which it subsequently sold along with almost all of its real estate investments worldwide in 2007 prior to the economic downturn. The group is now on its next cycle of investment and the mandate is to acquire major properties in first tier cities including L.A., San Francisco, New York City, London, Tokyo and Sydney.
The 9900 Wilshire site housed Robinson’s Beverly Hills that opened in February 1952. At the top was the Pink Tent for lunch. Floor to ceiling windows, wall-to-wall carpeting and streamlined cabinets replaced traditional department store counters, wood floors and enclosed rooms. Robinson’s was acquired by May Co. stores in 1993 and the Beverly Hills store was closed in 2006. The site was acquired by New Pacific Realty for $33.5 million in 2004 and then sold to Candy & Candy three years later.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
