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Overview

Bank of China provides a $230 million USD loan to Coretrust Capital Partners for the Citigroup Center Acquisition Project

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$250,865,962
Commitment Year•2016Country of Activity•United StatesDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•United StatesSector•Business And Other ServicesFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Jan 1, 2016
Start (actual)
Nov 1, 2016
End (actual)
Nov 1, 2016

Geospatial footprint

Map overview

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The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to support the acquisition by the Citigroup Center (later renamed 444 South Flower), a 48-story 914,000-square foot skyscraper office tower located at at 444 South Flower Street in Bunker Hill of Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. More detailed locational information can be found at https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/285886057

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Bank of China (BOC)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Coretrust Capital Partners, LLC

Loan description

Bank of China provides a $230 million USD loan to Coretrust Capital Partners for the Citigroup Center Acquisition Project

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In 2016, the Bank of China (BOC) provided a $230 million USD loan to Coretrust Capital Partners, LLC — a Delaware-incorporated private real estate investment manager and a vertically integrated owner-operator of offices headquartered in Los Angeles, California — for the Citigroup Center Acquisition Project. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to support the acquisition by its investment fund Coretrust Value Fund I of the Citigroup Center (later renamed 444 South Flower), a 48-story 914,000-square foot skyscraper office tower located at at 444 South Flower Street in Bunker Hill of Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. As one of the tallest buildings in Los Angeles, Citigroup is a famous landmark and featured in many media depictions of the city. Coretrust Value Fund I purchased the building from Hines for $336 million USD in November 2016, with Coretrust planning to redevelop the property. In 2018, Oaktree Capital Management provided a $64.7 million USD mezzanine loan and American International Group (AIG) provided a $209.6 million USD senior loan to Coretrust to refinance the Citigroup Center, including the BOC loan. The mezzanine loan was due in December 2021, but Coretrust and Oaktree entered into a forbearance agreement to end the maturity to May 31, 2022, but Coretrust was unable to repay the loan and fell into default. In September 2022, Oaktree initiated an Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure on the tower. As of January 24, 2023, Coretrust owed over $110 million USD on the loan and had reportedly failed to pay all outstanding obligations; Coretrust was reportedly also in default on the loan from AIG loan. An auction for an equity stake on the tower was held on January 30, 2023, with Coretrust losing core of the property.

Staff comments

1. Bank of China is a tenant of the Citigroup Center / 444 South Flower Street. 2. It is plausible, if not likely, that the specific borrowing institution was a special purpose vehicle subsidiary of Coretrust Capital Partners. This issue merits further investigation.