DTLA’s Watermarke Tower secures $95M in financing

ASB Real Estate Investments has secured a $95 million 10-year mortgage on the 35-story WaterMarke Tower in Downtown Los Angeles.

Helaba, a German bank, provided the floating-rate loan. The rental tower, located at 705 W. 9th Street, has 214 units and 9,000 square feet of retail space.

The building was developed as a condominium tower by developer Meruelo Maddux and completed in 2009, according to Downtown L.A. real estate blogger Brigham Yen. ASB acquired it in 2014 for $160.5 million and converted the condo units to rentals. It’s now 94 percent leased, according to ASB.

Watermarke Tower is a popular filming location. Its most high-profile appearance was in the 2013 film “Her” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson. The building brings in $100,000-$200,000 annually from shooting fees.

ASB, based in Bethesda, Maryland, also owns a 106-unit apartment building in Santa Monica and a handful of retail properties in L.A., along with a diverse portfolio of properties in other markets, including San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Miami.