Building Up a Neighborhood in a Down Market

International real estate developer Goodwin Gaw knows a good investment when he sees one…or three.

Goodwin Gaw's Downtown Properties group bought three historic buildings in the heart of downtown Los Angeles and converted them into beautiful loft residences.  The first conversion was completed in 2006, just as real estate prices were reaching their peak.  The second conversion was completed in 2008, just as the economy hit a wall.

In order to generate interest in the property and build sales momentum, Downtown Properties initiated an innovative ‘simultaneous auction' and sold nearly a third of the units in the building, at then market prices.  The third conversion came onto the market in the spring of 2010, as the downtown residential market continued to fall.  The conventional sales of this building, however, have been buoyed by the sale of a parking lot in between the second and third building to the City of Los Angeles for a park project.

We helped Downtown Properties with just about every bit of legal advice, strategy, and documentation they needed to conduct their business, including parking rights, financing, purchase contracts, title work, construction contracts, CC&Rs, leases, as well as auction terms and conditions.

Downtown Properties views its projects as a success, given that nearly every other condo conversion project to come onto the market at the same time has either gone bankrupt or converted to rentals.  The new condo owners are able to share in Downtown Properties' success with views of their reinvigorated historic neighborhood.