MetLife forecloses on Starwood, Artisan building in El Segundo

MetLife Investment Management foreclosed on an El Segundo office building owned by Starwood Capital and Artisan Ventures, The Real Deal has learned. 

MetLife paid $72.8 million for 1960 East Grand Avenue through a non-judicial foreclosure last month, according to a trustee’s deed filed with Los Angeles County. 

Starwood and Artisan owed $83.9 million under a roughly $85 million loan from MetLife on the property, provided in 2020, records show. 

The firms defaulted on the loan in February, prompting MetLife to schedule a foreclosure on the 257,000-square-foot building. 

A representative for Starwood Capital and Artisan co-founder Mark Laderman both declined to comment. MetLife did not respond to a request for comment.

Many office owners have chosen to hand back the keys on properties, given many lenders have pulled back from financing office buildings in light of remote work and a lack of tenant interest. Few buildings across Los Angeles County have actually gone through a non-judicial foreclosure — other landlords and lenders have agreed to deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure or receiverships. 

MetLife’s foreclosure deal, which came to $283 a square foot, was roughly a 45 percent discount compared to what Starwood and Artisan paid for the property in 2020. 

Starwood and Artisan acquired the building from a Brookfield fund, and had planned to redevelop an adjacent parking lot into 94,000 square feet of office space and a new parking structure. However, the plans never came to fruition.