Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In January 2017, the Bank of China (BOC) entered into a $390 million USD construction takeout loan agreement with Crescent Heights, Inc. — an American privately-held real estate development company based in Miami, Florida — for the Ten Thousand Tower 2017 Refinancing Project. This loan was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a first mortgage on Ten Thousand. The proceeds were used by the borrower to replace (refinance) a construction loan from Ullico Inc. and preferred equity from Blackstone Group for Ten Thousand, a 40-story 283-unit luxury rental tower located at 10000 Santa Monica Boulevard on the border of Beverly Hills and Century City in Los Angeles, California. Ten Thousand, featuring two- to three-bedroom units, was completed early in January 2017 and featured 75,000 square feet of amenities including a 74-foot indoor lap pool, a massage and spa treatment area, fire pits, a tennis court, a dog run, a pet spa, an on-site garage, a bicycle room, and a storage room, with tower employees including a 24-hour doorman, valet attendants, a four-person butler team, private drivers, a lifestyle manager, and a 60-person house staff. It also featured Charley, a robot programmed to deliver parcels to residents. In April 2019, Crescent Heights accrued $734 million USD in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) debt originated by Natixis to refinance the $390 million USD loan.
Staff comments
1. It is plausible, if not likely, that the specific borrowing institution was a special purpose vehicle subsidiary of Crescent Heights, Inc. This issue merits further investigation.