LOS ANGELES, CA - Roman Ciuni and Kurt Hediger of NAI Capital’s Newport Beach office have sold the historic 45-unit 61,425 sq. ft. Newberry Lofts residential building located at 900 E 1st Street in downtown Los Angeles. The buyer, M West Holdings, will take over the ongoing renovation of the property. The team represented both buyer and seller. The property was not listed and the transaction closed off-market.
“This was a strong value added opportunity where the buyer will benefit from rent growth and the ongoing gentrification of the Arts District. The Newberry Lofts stands out as a unique residential building because of its architecture and historical significance as one of the four early buildings to be built in District.”
M West will immediately renovate the extra-large loft units by adding high-end kitchens and bathrooms consistent with Class-A condos in the submarket. The property features ample surface parking for residents. M West will rebrand 900 East 1st Street as “The Newberry Lofts” invoking the historical significance of the Newbury Company in the Los Angeles area. Karl Slovin, President of M West states, “We are very excited to acquire one of Los Angeles’ original warehouse buildings. By rebranding 900 East 1st Street as ‘The Newberry Lofts,’ we hope to evoke the property’s rich past and historical context. We believe that this property has the potential to command the some of the highest rents within its submarket and will continue to benefit from the area’s continued population growth, and solid long-term economic drivers.”
The loft building at 900 E. 1st Street was originally called the J. R. Newberry Company Building. Located on the south side of 1st Street at the intersection of Vignes Street in the former warehouse district of Los Angeles. It served as the primary warehouse for J. R. Newberry Company, a Los Angeles grocery store chain, and it housed a candy store, blacksmith shop, and restaurant. In the 1980′s the building was converted to loft rental housing in what is now designated “The Arts District.” Historical Information was provided by Jonathan Jerald, from research into records of the National Historic, and the Office of Historic Preservation.
NAI Capital is a leading Southern California commercial real estate firm headquartered in Encino, California. With 14 offices throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties, NAI Capital is the Southern California affiliate of NAI Global, a premier real estate service network with 350 offices spanning the globe. Since 1979, NAI Capital clients have built their businesses on the power of our expanding network. Our extensive services include: multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services