CIM Group pays $30M for historic Desmond building in Miracle Mile: sources

Brookfield Asset Management was the seller

The Desmond at 5500 Wilshire Blvd, CIM Group executives Shaul Kuba and Avi Shemesh
The Desmond at 5500 Wilshire Blvd, CIM Group executives Shaul Kuba and Avi Shemesh

CIM Group has paid about $30 million to acquire the Desmond, a historic office and retail complex spanning 79,000 square feet in the Miracle Mile district, The Real Deal has learned.

Located at 5500 Wilshire Boulevard, the Desmond is an 11-story building that includes 28,000 square feet of retail space and approximately 51,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors.

The seller was Brookfield Asset Management. The property was in contract with another firm for $33 million, but that eventually fell through, a source familiar with the deal said.

The Art Deco building, designed by the late architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, was first used to house Desmond’s and Silverwoods, the department stores. It was designed as a Historic-Cultural monument more than 30 years ago.

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Marc Renard of Cushman & Wakefield had the listing.

CIM and Renard declined to confirm the final sale price. Brookfield could not be reached. CIM announced the deal in a company statement on Wednesday.

CIM, led by co-founders Shaul Kuba and Avi Shemesh, is an active player in both commercial and residential real estate in L.A. Late last year, the firm paid $130 million for 9460 Wilshire Boulevard, a 97,000-square-foot building in Beverly Hills. It also owns an office building at 953 Sycamore Avenue and the Sunset Gordon Tower in Hollywood, 2 California Plaza in Downtown L.A. and the Westgate Santa Monica in West L.A.

Earlier this month, the firm announced it is exploring the sale of $1.3 billion worth of its office properties located in California and Washington D.C. The move is part of a larger potential recapitalization of the firm’s REIT business.