Harkham family buys in Highland Park

Just a few months after selling a shuttered hotel on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills for $200 million, the Harkham family is back in the market across town as the buyer of retail, office and multifamily in the gentrifying Highland Park district northeast of Downtown Los Angeles.

Aron Harkham, son of hotelier Efrem Harkham, purchased two mixed-use properties totaling 41,000 square feet in Highland Park for $28.7 million, according to JLL’s Tim Kuruzar and Geoff Tranchina, who brokered the deal on behalf of the seller. JLL’s Marc Schillinger represented Harkham, who could not be reached for comment.

Harkham bought the two-building complex at 5900 and 5711 North Figueroa Street from Asana Partners, a Charlotte-based investment firm that focuses on mixed-use properties.

The total of 23,300-square feet covers 5711 and 5715 North Figueroa and includes 7,500 square feet of office space, according to marketing materials for the property. A barber shop, ice cream parlor, recording studio and a men’s clothing store all lease storefront retail space.

At 5900 North Figueroa, the retail property includes 12 residential units, all of which are occupied. The remaining 11,300 square feet of the property is retail, leased to vegan restaurant Kitchen Mouse and a tattoo parlor.

Asana paid $23.3 million for both properties in 2018, records show. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t the first purchase the Harkhams have made this year. In February, the family bought more than an acre of industrial space at Seward Street and Hudson Avenue in Hollywood for $22 million.

Investors have spent more money in recent months on Highland Park properties, especially on mixed-use space. In January, Culver City-based ABRA Management bought a development at 4247 Eagle Rock Boulevard with 59 units and 2,600 square feet of retail space for $28.7 million.