Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi with David and Victoria Beckham sold their Beverly Hills home for $33.1 million (Credit: Getty Images, iStock)

What do a talk show host, actor, soccer superstar and former Spice Girl all have in common? The power couples of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, and David and Victoria Beckham collected more than $30 million each for their Beverly Hills mansions this week.

DeGeneres and de Rossi registered the most expensive sale with their $35 million trade in Beverly Hills. That’s more than twice what the pair paid for it three years ago. Sue Gross, formerly married to billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Gross, was the buyer. She also owns the home next door, which she bought seven months ago for $20 million. Gross acquired the 5,280-square-foot home in an off-market deal.

The Beckhams pocketed $33 million this week when they sold their Italian villa-style home in the same neighborhood. An LLC purchased the 13,000-square-foot mansion, which was designed by Tim Morrison in 2007. The couple lived in the one-story property for about a decade, but have recently been making moves in another coastal city. Soccer icon David Beckham is currently looking for a site for a Major League Soccer stadium in Miami.

Film producer Gary Gilbert, who also has a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, purchased a home in the flats of…you guessed it, Beverly Hills, for $26.5 million. Jared Pobre, an entrepreneur, sold the 12,500-square-foot estate. It includes five bedrooms and a swimming pool. Gilbert is the president of Gilbert Films, which produced hits like “La La Land” and “The Kids Are All Right.”

Farther east, a video game developer is putting down roots in the Hollywood Hills. Jeff Strain, best known for creating “World of Warcraft” and “StarCraft,” paid $12 million for a 7,700-square-foot property. The home, nicknamed “Castle,” was recently renovated by husband-and-wife home flippers Robert and Cortney Novogratz, stars of two reality TV shows. It includes four bedrooms, a home theater, basketball court and game room.

From left: Jamie Lee, Circa, Scott Dobbins. (Courtesy TRD, Circa)

Circa has officially opened its doors in Downtown Los Angeles.

The $500 million project, developed in partnership by Hankey Investment, Jamison Services and investor Shawn Zackary, brings a flood of new luxury units to the Downtown market, which is already inundated with several residential high-rises.

Located on Figueroa Street, the twin 35-story towers span 2 million square feet overall. There are 648 apartments, two swimming pools, fire pits, indoor and outdoor yoga spaces, and 2,000 parking spots, the Los Angeles Times reported.

On the buildings’ exterior, a massive LED screen covering 18,000 square feet pours bright light onto the streets abutting the L.A. Live and Los Angeles Convention Center.

Rents for a one-bedroom apartment start at $3,000 per month, while the penthouses demand a steep $25,000 monthly.

Circa is currently 14 percent leased. It’s likely going to take more than a year to lease the property, Scott Dobbins, president of Hankey, told the Times.

The eye-catching residential project is just one of the many developments shaping the skyline in DTLA. There are more than 6,000 units expected to hit the market this year in the area. One example nearby is Oceanwide Holdings Co.’s Oceanwide Plaza, a sprawling project consisting of three mixed-use towers with condos, a hotel and retail, which topped out earlier this year. [LAT]—Natalie Hoberman

David Ryu. (Credit from left: Pixabay, Twitter)

Getting to Hollywood has never been an easy task, just ask any aspiring actor. But, for tourists, getting to the Hollywood sign is no picnic either. Even for residents who live nearby, it’s just as bad.

Now, the city is taking seriously a proposal to build a tram to and from the storied sign.

The City Council instructed staffers to look into a dozen strategies to alleviate traffic around Griffith Park, including the tram, according to Curbed. That includes a feasibility study of such a tram.

The city picked the proposals out of 29 developed by outside consultant Dixon Resources Unlimited on the guidance of the Department of Recreation and Parks. Among those proposals that didn’t make the cut, was the suggestion to build a second, more accessible Hollywood sign on the north side of Griffith Park to ease the congestion.

Locals around Griffith Park have complained about tourist activity around the Hollywood sign for years. In 2016, a group of locals including the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce asked the city to create an official visitors center to help organize visits.

The city has received two proposals over the last year from outside groups to develop a tram. Warner Brothers proposed building one that would move people between the sign and a parking lot at Warner Brothers’ studio on the north side of Griffith Park.

The other proposal comes from the Diller-Von Furstenberg family. Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller, his wife and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg, and her son Alexander von Furstenberg want to fund a tram that would leave from the Los Angeles Zoo.

Councilmember David Ryu, whose district covers the entirety of Griffith Park, is leading the City Council effort. [Curbed]–—Dennis Lynch

Steel beams being installed in 2014. (Credit: courtesy TJPA, Pixabay)

Crews are scrambling at the Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco after a second cracked beam was discovered in as many days.

The $2.2-billion transportation hub opened Aug. 11 and was heralded as a “flashy centerpiece of city infrastructure” two decades in the making, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported. But the center was quickly closed Sept. 25 after the first cracked beam was discovered.

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) – which built and now operates the center – said the tear was 2.5 feet long and 4.5 inches deep on a 60-foot beam that holds a 5.4-acre rooftop park above a bus deck. Then workers found a second, slightly smaller crack on a different beam that runs parallel to the first. Crews are now shoring up the building by installing steel supports to reduce the pressure on the beams.

Officials don’t know what caused the cracks yet, but several possibilities are considered likely: fabrication problems, installation error, too much weight, or an issue in the initial design. The beams are among more than 22,000 tons of steel in the building’s skeleton.

In a statement, Mayor London Breed said “someone needs to be held accountable once the cause is determined.”

According to the Architect’s Newspaper, the companies involved are Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the architect of the center and nearby Salesforce Tower; structural engineering firm Thorton Tomasetti, which also acted as the engineer of record along with performing some construction work; the project contractor was a joint venture between Webcor and Obayashi; and, finally, the fabrication of the steel beams was contracted out to Stockton-based Herrick Corp. by Skanska USA Civil West of New York and the TJPA.

Around the transit center, the city plans to create 6 million square feet of office space, 4,400 housing units, 100,000 square feet for retail, and 11 acres of park space. [SF Chronicle]–Gregory Cornfield

(Credit from left: Pixabay, NAR)

Shannon McGahn, a former Trump administration official at the Treasury Department, is now top lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors, the country’s second biggest lobbying group by dollars spent and the country’s largest voice for brokers.

McGahn most recently served on the staff of Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas, who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. When she took that post in 2017, she was the first Trump-era official to leave a post at the Treasury. McGahn starts her new job at NAR on Oct. 15, Inman reported, and she will be the first woman to hold the chief lobbyist position. She is married to Donald McGahn, who serves as White House counsel to President Trump.

McGahn’s deep connections to the administration and Republicans in congress will no doubt be useful for the million-plus member trade group that has spent more than $80 million on lobbying since Trump took office less than two years ago. The group was particularly active during last year’s tax reform discussions, pressing lawmakers to curb the negative effect of some measures on incentives for homeownership. [Inman]—Will Parker

Mortgage fraud risk jumped more than 12 percent year over year at the end of Q2. (Credit: iStock)

Mortgage fraud is on the rise as more buyers are inflating their incomes in order to qualify for new purchases.

Roughly one in every 109 mortgage applications has some indication of fraud, according to data from CoreLogic cited by CNBC.

Mortgage fraud risk climbed 12 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier. And areas like New York, New Jersey, Florida, Washington, D.C. and New Mexico are most at risk.

Bridget Berg, principal of fraud solutions strategy for CoreLogic, said rising home prices and strong demand has put pressure on bona fide borrowers to qualify for a mortgage.

“Undisclosed real estate liabilities, credit repair, questionable down payment sources and income falsification are the most likely misrepresentations,” she said.

The biggest cause for fraud risk was inaccurate income reporting. The practice shot up 22 percent year over year, and it’s now easier than ever for fraudsters. Borrowers can use online services that will create fake pay stubs and answer phone calls to “confirm” income.

“Sites will have a disclaimer, claiming it’s for novelty purposes or similar qualifying statements,” Berg said. “Some are out of the country and not traceable. There are sites where you can buy credit lines to increase your credit.”

CoreLogic’s survey also found that loans coming from wholesale lenders or brokers have a higher risk of fraud, which was common during the last housing boom. [CNBC] –Rich Bockmann

Guo Guangchang, chairman and co-founder of Fosun International (Credit: Getty Images)

The overseas buying spree for Chinese companies hasn’t come to a complete halt – at least not for everyone.

The United Kingdom affiliate of Fosun International, a Chinese conglomerate, has purchased London’s historic Royal Exchange building for $58.4 million, according to the South China Morning Post. The affiliate, Resolution Property, purchased four floors in the property spanning 68,000 square feet from the European investment firm MARCOL.

The Royal Exchange in London, England (Credit: Getty Images)

Fosun bought 60 percent of Resolution Property in 2015 for $17.9 million and uses it to buy properties in Europe. Fosun’s co-founder Guo Guangchang said in August that the company would keep trying to expand its footprint through international deals, although it has lessened its overseas investments since the Chinese government tightened rules on moving capital out of the country.

However, Paul Hastings partner Paul Guan told the Morning Post that this did not ban companies from investing overseas entirely.

“A lot of companies have been doing outbound investment for a long time,” he said. “They have reputable local partners, do not overbid and have proved that their overseas investments are for the purpose of diversifying their portfolios for better returns. The door on overseas investments in real estate has not shut down.” [South China Morning Post] –Eddie Small

A rendering of Lifan Tower (Credit: the Department of City Planning)

A Chinese developer has secured a density bonus it needed to move forward on a 29-story Westlake project.

The Department of City Planning approved a 35 percent density bonus for Lifan Group’s Lifan Tower. The 306-unit tower planned for 1247 W. 7th Street, at the corner of Witmer Street, would be one of the larger Westlake developments in recent years.

It will include 5,700 square feet of ground floor commercial space and 34 units will be set aside for “very low income” renters.

Nearly half of all units will be one-bedrooms, but there will also be studio, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.

A pool deck is planned for the sixth floor. There will also be a gym, rec rooms, and meetings rooms. MVE + Partners is designing the tower.

Lifan Group, which is primarily a motorcycle and auto manufacturer, purchased the roughly one-acre parcel in early 2016 for $19.1 million through an entity based at Lifan motorcycle dealership in Ontario, Canada. At the time, the property was entitled for a 33-story condo tower with 200 units. It demolished a 21,000-square-foot low-rise office building there shortly after.

Lifan Tower would be one of the larger recent developments in Westlake. The City Council approved a plan earlier this year for a large mixed-use project with 478 units near MacArthur Park. Newport Beach-based PacTen Partners is also looking to build a 140-unit condo tower at Wilshire Boulevard and Lucas Avenue.

Lifan Group is privately owned and one of the largest automakers in China. It delivered 133,000 vehicles in 2017 and has a market capitalization of $870 million valued in Chinese Yuan.

From left: Michael Mandel and Nick Romito with a screenshot of Compstak’s leasing product (Credit: Compstak)

CompStak has launched a new analytics platform that allows users to compare its crowdsourced leasing and property information in real time.

The platform, dubbed CompStak Analytics, launched Monday, giving the company a head start over rival VTS, which is planning to launch a similar product in coming months.

Last year, analytics giant Moody’s bought a minority stake CompStak, with the intent of using its lease data to help its clients — banks, insurance companies and asset managers — in managing risk.

CompStak, which launched in 2012, has raised $21 million from investors including Canaan Partners and Camber Creek. Its clients include Wells Fargo, Boston Properties, Tishman Speyer and Carlyle Group, who reportedly pay around $50,000 a year for its service.

In October 2017, the firm branched into sales, and began aggregating public records, as well as crowdsourcing net operating income and cap rates from brokers.

This June, VTS said it had begun testing a beta version of its own analytics platform that would also give subscribers the ability to monitor leasing and asset management data in real-time and make comparative data sets.

‘We have a lot of data that they don’t have,” Michael Mandel, co-founder and CEO of CompStak, said of VTS. “And our scope is broader than theirs.” But, he added, both analytics platforms could “live side-by-side” and mutual customers have expressed excitement about both companies products.

The two companies have previously engaged in a data-sharing partnership, when in 2016, users of VTS and Hightower could access lease comps from CompStak respective platforms.

Nick Romito, VTS’ chief executive, said the two platforms would offer separate insights to individual datasets.

“The actual deals themselves originate in VTS,” he said. “That’s the entire leasing of the space, through the actual negotiation, until it becomes a tenant.”

Port Logistics CEO Jeffrey Wolpov and the properties on Rowland Street

Port Logistics Group has signed three different lease extensions in the City of Industry, adding to the growing number of industrial trades in the San Gabriel Valley enclave.

Combined, the logistics firm signed deals to occupy 1.48 million square feet for five more years.

Port Logistics will occupy 775,000 square feet of warehouse and distribution space at 108 S. Mayo Avenue, as well as 700,000 square feet in two separate buildings at 18175 and 18215 Rowland Street, the firm announced Monday.

Majestic Realty, an industrial developer, owns the property on Mayo Avenue. Gateway Industrial Properties, a subsidiary of Blackstone, owns the two buildings on Rowland Street.

John Simons at NAI Capital, and Jeff Canon, Andrew Morrow and Joe Jones at Savills Studley represented Port Logistics. Majestic Realty was represented in-house. Mike McCrary of JLL represented Gateway.

The City of Industry has become a hotbed for logistics and manufacturing firms looking for sprawling industrial properties. With a vacancy rate of less than two percent, developers are also increasingly flocking to the area.

Earlier this year, Dedeaux Properties sold its newly built industrial business park to a variety of local owner-users for $50 million. The campus includes seven buildings ranging from 27,500 – 43,200 square feet, which are smaller than the typical industrial building in the area.

EverWest Real Estate Partners also recently invested in the City of Industry, picking up a three-building complex for nearly $30 million in late August. The firm’s portfolio includes properties in Chicago, Boston and Phoenix.

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The Real Deal’s Konrad Putzier sits down with Ralph McLaughlin (Veritas Urbis Economics), Jeff Rinkov (Lee & Associates), Pat McRoskey (CBRE) and Elizabeth Clark (Pacific Union/Compass) to discuss how technology and huge sums of capital flowing into brokerage are forcing firms to consider consolidation to stay afloat in an uber-competitive market.

Angels Landing (Credit: Handel Architects)

Downtown Los Angeles’ massive Angels Landing project has hit a snag. The city says the $1.2 billion project can’t touch down without a lengthy environmental impact report.

The development team — the Peebles Corporation, MacFarlane Partners and Claridge Properties —hoped to get that by adding a shorter addendum to an existing report for the site conducted in the 1990s, according to Downtown News. The city’s Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst made the determination that a more complete and updated report was needed.

The project is slated for the corner of 4th and Hill streets at what is now Pershing Square.

The original report was conducted as part of a development plan to add the third California Plaza office tower at the site. But that fell apart during the recession in the early 1990s.

It’s unclear how long the newer report might take to complete, but they often take at least a year. The development team could not be reached for comment.

An EIR report requires the city to identify potential impacts on the environment, including car traffic, and to propose mitigation measures to resolve them.

The Angels Landing project includes main two structures — a 27-story tower, and an 88-story tower that would be one of the tallest in the western United States. The Handel Architects design also includes an elaborate public plaza that weaves through the site.

The city chose the development team in December 2017. In June, the team submitted it’s official plan for the project. Per that plan, the development includes 120 condos, 450 apartments, two hotels, a charter school, and 50,000 square feet of commercial space. [LADN] – Dennis Lynch 

Masayoshi Son and Mohammed bin Salman (Credit: Getty Images)

SoftBank’s second Vision Fund already has one major investor.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund plans to put $45 billion into the new fund, two years after making an investment of the same amount, Bloomberg reported. The PIF, which is looking to deploy a $170 billion windfall, has seen a “huge benefit” from the first Vision Fund, according to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Masayoshi Son’s Vision Fund has poured billions into several real estate tech ventures in recent years. Last month, the Japanese conglomerate announced a $400 million investment in Opendoor, a home-flipping startup. At the same time, brokerage Compass raised a $400 million Series F led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Qatar Investment Authority. The deal, which is SoftBank’s second investment in the firm, values Compass at $4.4 billion.

The Vision Fund is also reportedly in talks to invest more in WeWork, in a deal that would value the co-working giant between $35 billion and $40 billion.

Last month, Son told Bloomberg he planned to raise a new $100 billion fund every two to three years. [Bloomberg] — Meenal Vamburkar

Shonda Rhimes with home on Hudson Avenue

The force behind television hits like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” is looking to part ways with one of her several Hancock Park properties.

Producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes is seeking $9.95 million for her 8,300-square-foot residence on Hudson Avenue, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Traditional-style home, built in 1924, features six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Amenities include a swimming pool with a cabana, garden, library and two walk-in closets.

Rhimes purchased the home from musician Beck in March 2010 for $5.6 million, property records show.

Since buying, she’s written many episodes of her hit TV shows at the property, listing agent Ed Solórzano of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties told the WSJ.

The mega-producer also owns three other homes in the area. Among them is an English Country-style home she paid $4.6 million for in 2017, records show.

Rhimes made waves in the entertainment world last year when she closed a development deal with Netflix reportedly worth $150 million over five years. Prior to that, she had created hits for ABC Studios, including “Private Practice” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” [WSJ] –– Natalie Hoberman

Volo Foundation’s David Vogel (Credit: Volo Foundation and Wikipedia)

The effects of climate change may literally put real estate underwater, but where many see catastrophe, some investors see opportunity.

Investors are making plays on land investment, flood protection development and other sectors as the long-range outlooks for communities nationwide begin to shift, according to Bloomberg.

Key Point Capital invested in hotel real estate investment trusts around Houston in the runup to Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Those REITs were dropping because investors figured few people would visit following the hurricane. But Rod Hinze, principal at the Dallas-based firm, bought low, knowing that demand would be high from displaced residents looking for shelter after the storm.

He did the same in South Florida in the leadup to Hurricane Irma, and said he saw 25-30 percent returns.

Cities like New York meanwhile, could struggle to pay for needed storm surge barrier systems, which could cost $2.7 million per meter. To offset that cost, the city could raise money with a bond offering or outsource such a project to a private entity, a JP Morgan Asset Management strategist wrote in an April report.

David Vogel, founder and CEO of Jupiter Florida-based Voloridge Investment Management said he privately purchased land near Asheville, North Carolina, which is 2,000 feet above sea level. Vogel said he thinks people living along the southern coastal areas will move north as sea levels rise, according to Bloomberg. Vogel is also using his quantitative skills to crunch climate change data at his Volo Foundation to help provide more information about the risks.

Changing weather pattersn has already affected the real estate market. Average home prices in some areas of the country less prone to natural disasters have grown more than those more vulnerable locations. Property values for Florida homes below sea level and assessed as having a flood risk dip by about 7 percent on average. [Bloomberg] — Dennis Lynch 

Hudson Pacific Properties CEO Victor Coleman and the Ferry Building

Hudson Pacific Properties is partnering with Allianz Real Estate to pick up a historic property in San Francisco.

The joint venture is paying $291 million to acquire the Ferry Building, a mixed-use building, from EQ Office, formerly known as Equity Office. The low-rise building, on the city’s Embarcadero waterfront, has 192,500 square feet of office space, and 75,500 square feet of retail. The retail space includes the Ferry Building Marketplace, a food market built into its indoor “street,” called the Nave, which attracts 8.8 million visitors a year, according to HPP.

The sale is for a 49-year ground lease for the building. The Port of San Francisco, which is technically the owner of the building, had to sign off on the sale. HPP took a 55 percent stake and will manage day-to-day operations at the property. Germany-based Allianz will take the remaining 45 percent stake. The deal was an all-cash transaction.

The Ferry Building opened in 1898 and was named for its function as a ferry landing. It was converted into office space in the 1950s, and lost much of its historic charm in the process. It was restored in the late 1990s and reopened in the 2003. Besides the Nave, its best-known feature is its large clocktower. It’s a San Francisco Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hudson Pacific Properties, a public real estate investment trust, has made some major moves in asset acquisition and development this year. It partnered with Macerich in May to redevelop the Westside Pavilion as creative office space.  It also secured a lease with Netflix for the entirety of its 13-story Epic office development in Hollywood.

In San Francisco, HPP also owns the Rincon Center, home to Google offices, and 1455 Market Street, where both ride-hailing app Uber and e-commerce app Square are headquartered.

Current office tenants at the Ferry Building include investment advisor Meritage Group LP and software companies Meltwater and Niantic. The latter is the developer of the hugely popular Pokémon GO mobile game.

Dan Martin and Hines CEO Jeffrey Hines with a rendering of Martin Expo Town Center (Credit: Gensler)

An appellate court judge has struck down another attempt to overturn approvals for the development of a major mixed-use project in West Los Angeles.

The proposed Martin Expo Town Center — set to bring more than 800,000 square feet of apartments, offices and retail to Olympic Boulevard — can now move forward, Urbanize reported.

Westsiders Opposed to Overdevelopment brought a complaint against the City of L.A. in 2016, after the L.A. City Council unanimously approved the project that fall. Westsiders claimed the city overstepped when it authorized a general plan amendment for the project.

An L.A. County Superior Court Judge ruled in 2017 that the city had not broken any rules when it approved the project.

Last week, a judge from California’s Second District Court of Appeals upheld that ruling. The judge ruled that the city does have the power to issue amendments for a single project, and had acted appropriately when it confirmed the project.

A joint venture between Hines and the Martin family, who have owned the site for over four decades, is developing the mega-project. The 807,000-square-foot project would bring roughly 200,000 square feet of office space, 516 apartments and nearly 100,000 square feet of retail space to 12101 W. Olympic Boulevard, currently home to a Cadillac dealership.

Hines, a prolific developer, paid more than $200 million for a 49 percent stake in the project in November 2017, The Real Deal previously reported.

Once completed, the mixed-use project will add to the 154 apartments CIM Group is currently building nearby at 11752 Santa Monica Boulevard. That project, also rising on the site of a former car dealership, will bring even more retail to the neighborhood.[Urbanize] – Natalie Hoberman

Century City in the Westside (Credit: Prayitno via Flickr)

Large office tenants are choosing to stay where they are, and are doing so because of cost.

New data from CBRE shows that since 2012, large tenants renewed their leases 22 months early and renewed for 135,000 square feet on average, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported.

“Total cost of the renewal is usually significantly less, and tenants tend to move when the economics or physical attributes of a space no longer meet their needs,” CBRE’s research team said in a statement on the data.

CBRE tracked tenants leasing more than 75,000 square feet. Average lease terms are 101 months.

Just 11 percent of leases on the Westside are set to expire between July 2019 and July 2022, which means many firms have already re-signed for their spaces. The Westside market is one of the tightest and most expensive in Los Angeles. Asking rents there — at $4.64 per square foot — were the highest of any neighborhood in the second quarter. 

Downtown L.A. will see the highest percentage of lease expirations of any L.A. neighborhood during those three years, with 37 percent of leases expiring.

Tenant-wise, law firms make up the largest percentage of large tenants with leases expiring, at 18 percent. Around 15 percent of expiring leases are creative tenants. [LABJ] – Dennis Lynch 

Hyatt Centric Hotel

Hyatt Hotels is buying independent hotel operator Two Roads Hospitality for $480 million, increasing its investment in lifestyle brands.

After the deal closes later this year, Chicago-based Hyatt will combine brands such as Andaz and Hyatt Centric with Two Roads’ Thompson Hotels and Alila Hotels & Resorts to create a new lifestyle division, according to Bloomberg. The firm will also invest up to $120 million Two Roads, Hyatt said in a statement.

The deal gives Hyatt management contracts for more than 85 properties in eight countries, including 23 markets where it doesn’t have an existing presence. Two Roads has another 35 properties in development.

The company was formed in the merger of Lowe Enterprises’ Destination Hotels and Geolo Capital’s Commune Hotel & Resorts, which was co-founded by John Pritzker, son of Hyatt founder Jay Pritzker.

The acquisition comes 10 months after Hyatt agreed to sell three properties, including the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, to Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. for $1 billion.

In Chicago, the company is opening Hyatt House and Hyatt Place hotels inside the old Cook County Hospital building, as part of a massive redevelopment of the property. [Bloomberg] — John O’Brien

From left: 246 Spring Street, Felix Sater, and Donald Trump (Credit: The Dominick Hotel and Getty Images)

According to Felix Sater, who built the Trump Soho condominium tower in Lower Manhattan and partnered with President Trump on several other projects, Trump didn’t lose sleep over where the money to build his branded properties came from.

“I would show him a deal and he’d say ‘let’s go,’” recalled Sater, who once occupied an office down the hall from the future president in Trump Tower. “The due diligence part was kind of light.”

At a panel hosted by The New Yorker magazine on Saturday, where he shared the stage with attorney Michael Avenatti and journalists Adam Davidson, Ruth Marcus and David Barstow, Sater shared some insights into the president’s relationship with Russia.

Trump has been under scrutiny for his ties to Russia’s President Putin and for his lukewarm response to Russian government’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Sater acknowledged that Trump has an affinity for Russian investors, but according to him the reason is mundane. “Donald Trump loved Russian buyers for one very simple reason: their checks cleared, and quickly,” Sater said.

Wealthy Russians, meanwhile, were drawn to Trump properties because of their “opulence,” “over-the-top” design, and the president’s celebrity. Buying at a Trump property “became a status symbol: I have arrived,” Sater said.

Asked if money was laundered through Trump properties, Sater replied “yes and no,” pointing to his Trump Soho co-developer Tamir Sapir as an example. “He made his money, when the Soviet Union collapsed, in the oil business. Rightly, wrongly, stole it, deserved it, didn’t deserve it… he took all that money and invested it in New York real estate,” Sater said of the late Sapir. “By the time he invested with us — he put $300 million into the building — the concept of ‘was this money dirty or not’… If we go back the Roosevelts made all of their money in the drug business, in China, in opium. So I mean how far back do you go to look at the money?”

Sater’s Bayrock Group built Trump Soho in partnership with the Sapir Organization and leased the Trump name for the property. Trump hired him as a “senior adviser” in 2010 and gave him a Trump Organization business card. That year, the three companies were sued for allegedly lying about sales at trump SoHo. Sater tried to broker a Trump-branded real estate development in Moscow in 2015, while Trump was running for president.

A 2017 New Yorker investigation by Davidson unearthed evidence of potential money laundering at another Trump-name property, in Azerbaijan, but Sater dismissed the suggestion that the president was in on the game. “There were some pretty hairy characters involved. Did they use laundered money? I would guess yes,” Sater said. “Was Donald Trump involved with helping them launder the money? I don’t think he was involved, I think he just didn’t care.”