Related secures $200M in bond financing for $1B Grand Avenue project

Bond will finance 323-unit rental portion of mixed-use DTLA development

Los Angeles City Council Speaker Herb Wesson, Related California CEO William Witte and a rendering of the Grand Avenue project
Los Angeles City Council Speaker Herb Wesson, Related California CEO William Witte and a rendering of the Grand Avenue project

Related Companies and architect Frank Gehry are a step closer to realizing a $1 billion project on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles.

The City Council approved a $200 million bond measure to finance the multifamily component of the 39-story tower. The massive project, called “The Grand,” is set to rise on city-owned land at 100 S. Grand Avenue, across the street from Gehry’s famous Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The measure adds to $290 million in financing committed by Chinese real estate firm and project partner CCCG Overseas Real Estate, or CORE. A representative for the development team said Related has a secured a lead lender to close financing and that the development team looks to break ground by the end of the year.

The Grand’s residential portion will have 113 condos and 323 rental units, with 89 of the rental units designated as affordable. The $200 million in bonds would finance the rental units.

It’s also designed to have a 20-story, 309-room, hotel tower. The two towers will each rise above five levels of parking and three terraced levels of retail space totaling 173,000 square feet, including a 430-seat movie theater, according to Related California. A public plaza will connect the towers.

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Related hired AECOM as construction manager and revealed new renderings in January. The team filed permits last August and hoped to start construction this fall.

The project will replace a decades-old parking garage.

Gehry’s tower designs resemble stacked blocks. His first design for the Grand, which debuted more than a decade ago, was scaled back to the current design to make it more financially feasible.

The project first gained City Council approval in late 2016.