Blackstone Sells Former Forever 21 Headquarters

Related Companies and Newland Capital Group are adding the former Los Angeles headquarters of Forever 21 to their portfolios.

Blackstone and Worthe Real Estate Group sold the 39-acre industrial and office campus in Lincoln Heights to Newland and Related Fund Management, an affiliate of Related Companies, in a $120 million deal, Commercial Observer reported. Blackstone and Worthe bought the eight-building 1.8-million-square-foot complex in 2018 for $165.7 million. Acquisition financing terms were not disclosed.

Forever 21 purchased the 3880 North Mission Road property from Macy’s in 2010 for $38 million. The brand filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and relocated its headquarters in 2022 after it was acquired by Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group and a Brookfield affiliate in 2020. The fast-fashion giant filed for bankruptcy a second time in March, leading to the closure of all of its U.S. stores.

Related and Newland aim to redevelop the site into “Mission Crossing.” Three of the eight buildings would be demolished and replaced with a 280,000-square-foot industrial property as well as 280,000 square feet of underground warehouse and parking space. In addition, the joint venture plans to add a roughly 11-acre industrial outdoor storage facility and a 670,000-square-foot flex industrial building.

Elsewhere in Greater Los Angeles, Related California is building its $3 billion Related Bristol project in Santa Ana. The mixed-use development, approved unanimously by the Santa Ana City Council in October, is expected to bring 3,750 residential units, 250 hotel rooms, 200 senior care units and up to 350,000 square feet of retail space.

Related California is also working on a 280-unit mixed-used development in Santa Monica, for which it secured a $385 million in construction loan, and the $1.3. billion downtown residential and hotel development designed by Frank Gehry called The Grand. Related Bristol is expected to break ground next year and be fully completed in 2036, according to The Los Angeles Times.

— Chris Malone Méndez