Kam Sang affiliate buys $290M Downtown Los Angeles office loan at undisclosed discount

Newmark has completed the discounted sale of a $290 million loan secured by the fee simple interest in Wells Fargo Center South. The building is a 45-story Class A office tower in Downtown Los Angeles. New Age 355, LLC, an affiliate of Kam Sang Company, acquired the loan, according to Connect CRE; the price and size of the discount were not disclosed.

At the time of the loan sale, the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed building at 355 S. Grand in the Bunker Hill district was approximately 42% leased, the report said. Across roughly 1.16 million square feet, that works out to about 487,000 square feet under lease and some 673,000 square feet without a tenant.

Newmark's Kevin Shannon, co-head of U.S. Capital Markets, represented the seller, who was not identified in the report. In remarks carried by Connect CRE, Shannon said buyers are gaining "irreplaceable real estate at a compelling basis relative to replacement cost" as pricing adjusts.

This publication has argued that office has found a clearing price only where the credit is government or medical, and that the rest is a debt workout. The Offices at Riverpark sale this publication covered on Oct. 15 was about 86% leased and still required a joint venture and fresh acquisition financing to clear.