The Kor Group Acquires 250-Room Custom Hotel with Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC
LOS ANGELES, CA. September 4, 2017 - The Kor Group is proud to announce that it has acquired Custom Hotel in a joint venture with the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC, solidifying their continued partnership. In addition to Custom Hotel, Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC is also the lead capital partner on The Kor Group's Austin Proper Hotel & Residences and Santa Monica Proper Hotel, both of which are under construction and opening in early 2019.
The 250-room Custom Hotel is the only lifestyle boutique hotel near Playa Vista and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and will be managed by Proper Hospitality, the California-based luxury lifestyle hotel operator. Located two miles east of the Pacific Ocean along Lincoln Boulevard in the Westchester neighborhood of West Los Angeles, the property strategically sits within close proximity to Loyola Marymount University, the Otis School of Design, and the beachside community of Playa Del Rey.
Renowned mid-century architect, Welton Beckett, originally designed the 12-story building in 1968. It features modern lines and minimalist design touches, large guest rooms with panoramic city and ocean views, 7,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, and a sleek, two-level pool deck, restaurant, and bar. Known for his modernist approach, he also designed many Los Angeles landmarks, including the Capitol Records building in Hollywood and the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA.
The Kor Group, which is well known for successfully investing in and transforming boutique hotels throughout Southern California, will immediately enhance hotel operations with upgraded service and guest experiences while finalizing long-term plans for the property. When completed, the hotel will solidify its position as the only full-service, independently branded lifestyle hotel between Venice and LAX. It is ideally located just minutes from Playa Vista, the center of “Silicon Beach,” which is the third-largest tech hub in the world, boasting a concentration of technology, entertainment and digital media industries. The area has become a magnet for leading corporations and entrepreneurial tech startups such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, IMAX, Apple, and Sony. The hotel is also only minutes from the LAX making it an ideal destination for business or leisure guests in town for an extended layover.
“There's a huge need for design-driven, budget-conscious hotel options on the Westside of LA, where business travelers are looking for easy access to Playa Vista and Silicon Beach, and leisure travelers want boutique options that serve as a gateway to LA's beach communities,” said Brian De Lowe, president and partner at The Kor Group and president and co-founder of Proper Hospitality. “We're extremely excited to continue our partnership with Goldman Sachs, and to bring this shared vision to life with Custom Hotel.”
Custom Hotel marks Proper Hospitality's fourth boutique property in Southern California, joining Avalon Beverly Hills, Avalon Palm Springs, and Hollywood Proper Residences. Please visit www.customhotel.com for more information.
About The Kor Group
The Kor Group is an international real estate investment and management company with extensive holdings and development experience in commercial real estate properties. Since its inception in 1999, Kor has acquired and developed hospitality, residential, and office assets valued in excess of $2.5 billion. Central to Kor's investment strategy is value creation through distinctive design and branding. By fusing creative design with an agile investment and development discipline, Kor has amassed a portfolio of high performing assets and has built a signature brand translatable across its properties. Kor has acquired, repositioned and managed over 14 million square feet of residential, mixed use, hotel, commercial office and retail space. Kor has over $1 billion in active developments - 1.4 million square feet in the acquisition, development, or construction stage, including ground-up development, value-add repositioning, and adaptive reuse. www.thekorgroup.com
About Proper Hospitality
Led by the co-founders Brad Korzen, Brian De Lowe and Alex Samek, Proper Hospitality designs, brands, and operates high-end lifestyle hospitality experiences under the Proper Hotels and Residences and Avalon Hotels brands. Each is a distinctive reflection of the vibrant community surrounding it, yet as a group they share a common belief in uncommon luxury, convenience of location, and world-class amenities provided by locally vetted innovators in food and beverage, technology, art, music, fashion, and wellness. Proper Hospitality currently manages Avalon branded hotels in Beverly Hills and Palm Springs and began rolling out the Proper brand with the opening of Hollywood Proper Residences in June 2016. Over the next few years, additional Proper Hotels and Residences are slated to open in other emerging urban innovation districts within dynamic U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Downtown Los Angeles, Austin and Santa Monica. www.properhotel.com
About the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC
Founded in 1869, the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division (MBD) is the primary center for Goldman Sachs' long-term principal investing activity. With nine offices across seven countries, the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs is one of the leading private equity investors in the world with equity and credit investments across corporate, real estate, and infrastructure strategies. Established in 1991, the Real Estate Principal Investment Area within MBD has invested in real estate and real estate related assets totaling approximately $53 billion in equity across more than 800 investments located in 35 countries. Investments include office, retail, industrial, hospitality, residential, acquiring real estate companies, real estate projects, loan portfolios, debt recapitalizations and direct property.
Contact:
Alexis Murray-Merriman
[email protected]
424 309 0880
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