News from DB&R
July 28, 2006
CONTACT: Bruce Beck
(805) 777-7971
bruce@dbrpr.com

Genesis Funds Provide $25.5 Million in Mezzanine Financing for Construction of Major Transit Oriented Development in Los Angeles

BURBANK, Calif. -- The Genesis Real Estate Funds managed by Shamrock Capital Advisors are providing KOAR Wilshire Western, LLC $25.5 million in mezzanine financing for the construction of a transit-oriented mixed-use development on the Metro Red Line at Wilshire and Western in Los Angeles, announced Managing Director Mark Schaffer.

Scheduled to open in 2008, the $160 million Solair Wilshire project will be a 22-story, contemporary glass-walled building that will contain a mix of uses, including 186 for-sale condominium units, 40,000 square feet of commercial/retail space, common areas for the public, subterranean parking garage and 12-space bus layover zone. It is the first mixed-use high-rise development to be built for the Koreatown / Wilshire Center community since the Metro Red Line opened in 2000.

The project is expected to increase usage of both Metro Rail and Metro Bus lines serving the area, stimulate growth and the continued economic revitalization of the area, and generate a substantial number of construction-related and permanent jobs, consistent with the goals of the Genesis Funds, commonly referred to as a "double bottom line" investment fund.

The first Genesis Real Estate Fund was launched in 2000 with a dual mission of generating both risk adjusted returns for its investors and stimulating economic development in low and moderate income communities throughout Los Angeles County. The $85 million Genesis I, believed to be the first investment fund of its kind in the United States, facilitated more than $250 million in retail, industrial, mixed use and creative office development and was responsible for the creation and/or retention of an estimated 5,000 jobs. Following the success of Genesis I, Shamrock created a second Fund with a $104 million in investment capital in the Fall of 2005. Financing for Solair Wilshire is being provided with capital from both Funds.

Solair Wilshire is the latest development within Metro's Joint Development Program, which seeks to provide the most appropriate private and/or public sector development on Metro-owned property at, and adjacent to, transit stations and corridors. The program, which also seeks to help reduce auto use and congestion by encouraging transit-linked development, has to date been involved in more than $1.4 billion in joint development projects throughout Los Angeles County. Other joint development projects now planned or under construction on the Metro Red Line include Wilshire/Vermont, Westlake/MacArthur Park and Hollywood/Vine.

Genesis Real Estate Funds I and II provide gap financing to developers, in the form of equity, preferred equity or mezzanine debt. Investors in Genesis Real Estate Fund II include major banks and insurance companies, along with a significant co-investment by Shamrock affiliates.

Shamrock Capital Advisors is an affiliate of Burbank-based Shamrock Holdings of California, Inc., the investment arm of the Roy E. Disney family.

Rendering credit: Archeon Group International