Carolwood LP pays $20M for Beverly Hills strip mall

For the first time in its more than 30-year history, Beverly Hills Plaza, a prominent strip mall located at 8950 West Olympic Blvd in Beverly Hills, has changed hands.

Carolwood LP, a nine-year-old private equity firm with a portfolio in real estate and restaurants, bought the 30,000-square-foot mall from the company that developed it for $20.1 million. The deal closed last month. Carolwood funded the purchase with a $10.8 million loan from First Republic Bank.  

The sales price works out to $658 per square foot. For comparison, in the second quarter of 2022, the average sales price per square foot for retail properties in the Los Angeles market was about $350, according to the commercial real estate site MyElisting.

A person familiar with the deal, but unauthorized to talk to the press, said that Carolwood probably would move some of the restaurants it owns — such as Pop’s Bagels, Croft Alley, Impasta, Bravo Toast and Cha Cha Matcha — into the strip mall. Currently restaurants such as La Provence and Chef Ming’s have locations at the mall, which is more than 70 percent occupied.

Carolwood LP co-founders Adam Rubin and Andrew Shanfeld declined to comment on the deal. Carolwood LP recently filed a lawsuit against luxury residential brokerage Carolwood Estates for trademark infringement over its name. Carolwood Estates is headquartered in Beverly Hills.

Shanfeld runs acquisitions for Carolwood LP, which owns commercial and residential holdings in Miami Beach and New York City.

Rubin also serves as president of parking conglomerate L&R Group, which operates under the name Joe’s Auto Parks in Los Angeles and Wally Park, a national airport parking operator. Carolwood LP is a separate entity from L&R Group.

Jay Luchs, vice chairman at brokerage Newmark and a long-time agent in Beverly Hills who was not involved in the Carolwood deal, said that despite news reports about the demise of retail, opportunity remains in strip malls.

“Food goes a long way in any property,” Luchs noted. “Restaurants are really strong.  If you mix a strip mall correctly with restaurants, retail and things for the community, people will come.”

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