Trending

Serenity now? Distressed debt firm buys loan on troubled luxury condo complex

Project developer faces lawsuits, liens on Beverly Hills property boasting “living wall” of plants

Distressed debt firm buys $25M loan on Garden House condo in Beverly Hills
Marvin Azrak's Maguire Capital bought the loan on Palisades' GardenHouse development, at 8600 Wilshire Boulevard (Compass, LinkedIn)

A distressed-debt firm bought a $25 million piece of a construction loan on a Beverly Hills luxury condo complex whose developer is being sued by a dozen contractors.

New York City-based Maguire Capital purchased the loan on the 18-unit Gardenhouse condo and retail property at 8600 Wilshire Boulevard, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The debt is part of the $40 million construction loan that Mosaic Real Estate Investors provided developer Palisades for the project in 2020. Mosaic sold a piece of that loan to a bank, which then sold it to Maguire Capital for around par value, the source said.

Gardenhouse, which opened in August 2020, includes a facade composed of a variety of plants that is touted as the “largest living wall in the country,” according to the building’s website.

MAD Architects — behind the $500 million proposed Star office tower in Hollywood — designed the Gardenhouse. Amenities include a reflecting pool, and an open-air atrium with a canopy of trees.

Despite its desire to fuse the natural world with high-end real estate and promote a sense of serenity, the Gardenhouse condo has been plagued with problems.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

A dozen contractors or subcontractors have sued Palisades, alleging they haven’t been paid for their work, court documents show. A number of foreclosure liens were also placed against the property.

A Gardenhouse investor sued in federal court, alleging the developers misled him on the project’s size and timeline — the construction plan was introduced in 2015 — and charged the architect’s costs inflated the overall budget. That case was settled in July, court records show.

In 2019, a carpet company sued Palisades over unpaid work at the Liddel luxury condo development in Westwood. In that case, Carpet USA — which also sued the general contractor, Lendlease and the lender — said it was owed more than $500,000 for the job.

Palisades did not return a request for comment.

Maguire Capital, led by Marvin Azrak, is largely focused on distressed debt and special situations. The company recently provided rescue financing to a Brooklyn landlord to prevent the foreclosure of 10 apartment buildings in Williamsburg and Carroll Gardens.

Read more

Recommended For You