Ashkenazy Acquisition Buys Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus

Ben Ashkenazy is adding to his Southern California holdings with a purchase in the Beverly Hills Golden Triangle.

The real estate developer’s New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation bought the two-block Neiman Marcus site at 9700 Wilshire Boulevard, the company said in a press release. Terms of the deal, including price, were not disclosed, though the firm compared the acquisition to separate deals including the $211 million purchase of Wilshire Rodeo Plaza by Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen and his brother Tyler last year and Alo Yoga’s $90 million purchase of the La Peer building at 8942 Wilshire Boulevard last month.

With the Neiman Marcus site, Ashkenazy now owns 350,000 square feet of retail in the Beverly Hills Golden Triangle, the heart of the city’s shopping district bordered by Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards and Canon Drive. The firm also owns the Beverly Connection mall in Beverly Grove and the former Barneys New York building, now home to Saks Fifth Avenue, at 9570 Wilshire Boulevard.

Ashkenazy’s latest purchase “reinforces the firm’s focus on irreplaceable, best-in-class retail assets located in globally recognized luxury corridors,” the company said.

The acquisition comes months after news surfaced that Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation amassed $750 million in funds to purchase commercial properties across the country. Information about investors in the fund was not disclosed, but Ashkenazy reportedly used his own money as well as that of funds from the Saudi royal family and the Kushner family, according to Crain’s New York Business. Over the summer, Ashkenazy acquired the Shops at Atlas Park mall in Queens, New York, for an undisclosed price, though it was estimated by Evercore to sell for about $70 million.

In total, Ashkenazy has acquired more than 15 million square feet of real estate in the U.S. and Canada. The company overall owns more than 100 buildings valued at $12 billion.

— Chris Malone Méndez