SOLD! KENNEDY WILSON CLOSES OUT SIGNATURE LOS ANGELES CONDOMINIUM PROJECT
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 5, 2010) – Kennedy Wilson (NYSE Amex: KWIC) is pleased to announce that it has sold and closed the remaining 149 units in The Mercury. In June 2009, Kennedy Wilson acquired the remaining 149 units in The Mercury - a 22-story luxury condominium tower on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. Built in 1963 as the headquarters of the Getty Oil Company, The Mercury underwent an adaptive reuse conversion from 2005 -2008 which converted the 22 story tower into 238 residential luxury condos over 2 stories of retail.
Prior ownership was successful in selling 89 of the residences before disposing the remaining 149 units in bulk. Post close, Kennedy Wilson re-launched the project with a new sales and marketing campaign at prices that met the market. After 32 weeks on the market, Kennedy Wilson has successfully sold all 149 units. The unprecedented sales velocity has made The Mercury a case study on sales and pricing positioning for conventional sales turnaround program in the current market environment.
Kennedy Wilson led a partnership of equity partners in The Mercury transaction that include the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, the LeFrak Organization and Aspiriant.
Stuart Cramer, President of Kennedy Wilson Residential Investments states: "Kennedy Wilson has been extremely fortunate to have the support of partners who believed in the Southern California market and believed in Kennedy Wilson's ability to execute on its business plan for the sale of condominium units at The Mercury. This financial support, and the efforts of a marketing team that included Wells Fargo's Builder Loans Group, Brandon Park and Associates, Young Park Marketing, United Escrow and Lawyers Title, resulted in a record sales pace for condominium sales at The Mercury. The unprecedented sales velocity has made The Mercury a case study on marketing and price positioning in the current market environment and has contributed heavily to overall resurgence in condominium sales in the Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown to Downtown Los Angeles market."
Looking forward to the rest of 2010, Kennedy Wilson's Residential Investments and Multifamily groups have over $500 million in capital available for further acquisitions of distressed residential condominium projects and for portfolio debt acquisitions in California, Nevada, Arizona and Washington. "We believe that there will be an increasing number of opportunities in 2010 for Kennedy Wilson to continue making value added investments in residential condominiums and the debt on these projects. Given our own capital allocation for such investments, Kennedy Wilson's long standing relationships with the lenders selling these assets and KW's operating capabilities, 2010 and 2011 should be an exiting and strong profitable period for Kennedy Wilson's residential investment platform" states Bob Hart, President and CEO of Kennedy Wilson's Multifamily Group.
Founded in 1977, Kennedy Wilson is a vertically-integrated real estate investment and services company headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA with 21 offices in the U.S. and Japan. The company offers a comprehensive array of real estate services including property and asset management, brokerage and auction services, and construction and trust management. Through its fund management and separate account businesses, Kennedy Wilson is a strategic investor and manager of real estate investments in the United States and Japan. For further information on Kennedy Wilson, please visit www.kennedywilson.com.
