A lender has purchased an 83,000-square-foot Koreatown shopping center at a bankruptcy auction after landlord Jake Sharp Capital defaulted on a $52.5 million mortgage loan.
The lender, an affiliate of Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Advisors, paid $29.2 million for the three-story California Market at 450 South Western Avenue, Commercial Observer reported.
The purchase works out to $352 per square foot.
The shopping center, built in 1987 to contain the California Market, became the first Korean supermarket in the state. It’s best known as a symbol of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, when the market owner and his tenants threw up barricades against looters, while defending it with guns.
Jake Sharp, based in Hollywood, bought the plaza in 2020 at a bankruptcy auction for $57.5 million, or $693 per square foot. The seller was Hyun Rhee, widow of the late supermarket chain founder Richard Rhee.
Besides California Market, its two dozen tenants include restaurants Gaju Gimbop, Two Hands Seoul Fresh Corn Dogs and Thanks Pizza, as well as Etude W Salon and Guardian Computer Repairs.
To buy the shopping center at South Western and 5th Street, Jake Sharp Capital borrowed $52.5 million from Columbia. The firm defaulted on the loan in January, according to CO.
Jake Sharp Capital, founded in 2020, is run by Lafayette Sharp, who lives in Dana Point, according to state business records. It appears to be affiliated with the Jake Sharp Group, founded in 2011 by Jake Sharp, a commercial mortgage firm also based in Dana Point.
It’s not clear if Columbia plans to sell or hold on to the building. Representatives for Columbia didn’t immediately respond to CO’s request for comment, while Jake Sharp Capital could not be reached.
— Dana Bartholomew
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