Related California Scores Financing for Santa Monica Project

Related California secured the financing necessary to start building its 280-unit, mixed-use development in Downtown Santa Monica.

The firm, run by William Witte, scored $375 million to start construction on 710 Broadway, according to a Monday announcement.

Related is using a combination of tax-exempt bond financing and regular loans for construction, loan documents filed with L.A. County show.

The firm also locked in a $175 million credit facility from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, records show.

Related is also leveraging $175 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the California Municipal Finance Authority, a state joint powers authority that can raise funds for affordable multifamily construction by issuing cheaper bonds.

Bank of America is the bondowner representative on the municipal bond deal, records show, and is providing some of construction financing, according to Related.

Related paid $73 million for the roughly 2.5-acre site last month, records show. Grocery chain Vons sold the site. It will continue to operate a 57,000-square-foot grocery store on the site.

Loan documents show Related is planning to build 196 market-rate units, 57 affordable units, 27 units designated for middle-income earners, plus about 33,500 square feet of retail space and 309 parking spaces.

Construction is expected to start next month and finish by the end of 2025.

Related is embarking on a number of large, mixed-use complexes across the state. In Northern California, the firm is building a 9.2 million-square-foot development across 240 acres. That project is set to rise near Levi’s Stadium and will have 1,600 units plus a hotel and office space.

In Orange County, the firm is building 3,750 apartments and 350,000 square feet of commercial space across 42 acres in the city of Santa Ana.