Madison Realty supersizes Beverly Grove multifamily after acquisition

Just months after taking over more than 20 properties across the Westside Los Angeles market from Neil Shekhter, Madison Realty Capital wasted no time planning its own developments on the sites. 

New York-based Madison has filed plans to switch up one of Shekhter’s former projects at 6401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Grove, according to city planning documents. The applicant is listed as Zachary Kadden, Madison’s head of development. 

The firm plans to reconfigure the 16-story apartment building to add 65 units to the property, bringing it up to 177 units on top of 5,100 of existing ground-floor retail. Madison did not respond to a request for comment.

Madison will not expand out the building, which has been renamed Sentral, but saw a way to rearrange the floor plans to add more apartments, according to a source familiar with the projects. Urbanize first reported on the plans. 

In December, Shekhter’s firm WS Communities signed deeds-in-lieu on 28 multifamily buildings and development sites across L.A. County, in exchange for relieving about $1.1 billion in unpaid debt. Madison acquired the bulk of the portfolio. 

Hankey Capital, which also took over some of Shekhter’s properties through deeds-in-lieu, has helped refinance the Wilshire site, plus seven other developments, through a $250 million loan, according to documents filed with Los Angeles County. 

Shekhter bought the site for $38 million in 2019, records show, and put the property up as collateral on a $345 million construction loan from Axos Bank. Shekhter then refinanced with a $175 million loan from Hankey and Madison. 

Shekhter finished construction on the apartments and scored a certificate of occupancy last year, according to records from the Department of Building and Safety. 

Apartments at Sentral are currently available for rent, starting at $3,815 a month for a studio. When Shekhter completed the project, monthly rents were $2,336 for a studio.