J&L Realty Partners squeezed in a deal to buy a building in Hollywood for $23 million, just two days before the City of L.A.’s new transfer taxes went into effect.
The investment firm bought the 39,000-square-foot property at 1777 Vine Street from performing arts college American Musical and Dramatic Academy, according to property records filed with L.A. County. The deal came out to $589 per square foot, one of the higher office deals the city has seen on a per square foot basis since interest rates have soared.
The college will lease back the property through 2041, a lease memorandum for the property shows.
AMDA made a hefty profit on the building — it purchased the property for $12.6 million in 2013, or about $323 per square foot.
But the college had hoped to make more. In October, the college listed the building for $29 million, according to The Registry SoCal.
J&L Realty Partners, based in Mid-Wilshire and run by John Gamboa, is a “cross-border” investment firm that focuses on pooling capital from Asia and investing it into real estate in the U.S., according to its website. The firm, which is affiliated with Jakarta-based J&L Realty, did not respond to a request for comment.
Measure ULA adds a 5.5 percent transfer tax on real estate deals worth more than $10 million. The tax went into effect April 1. By closing the deal before the new transfer tax went into effect, AMDA saved almost $1.3 million.