Berkadia and Marymount California University Complete $80 Million Sale and Secure Bridge Financing for $20 Million

LOS ANGELES and EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – January 25, 2023 – Berkadia announced today the sale of Marymount California University’s (MCU) campus in Rancho Palos Verdes and The Villas in San Pedro, California. The two sites consist of the MCU Oceanview campus in Rancho Palos Verdes and The Villas student townhouse complex in San Pedro. Senior Managing Director Adrienne Barr of Berkadia Los Angeles and Senior Director Steffan Braunlich of Berkadia El Segundo completed the $80 million sale on behalf of the seller, MCU. The buyer was the Regents of University of California (UCLA campus), who was represented by Cushman & Wakefield. The deal closed on January 25.

“We are proud to have represented MCU in this monumental deal,” said Barr. “By selling its campus to UCLA, MCU has enabled UCLA to expand enrollment and meet increasing demand for its academic offerings. More individuals will have the opportunity to advance their education in an amazing environment and the seller is happy that their mission of teaching, educational excellence and community service will be continued by a very high quality buyer who will be a great contributor to the local community.”

Managing Director Keith Rosso, also of Berkadia Los Angeles, secured $20 million in short-term financing from JMB Capital Partners Lending, LLC to facilitate the sale of MCU’s campus.

“It was a privilege to be involved in this transaction,” said Rosso. “Given the irreplaceable location of the MCU campus, we were able to identify numerous capital sources willing to provide a flexible line of credit prior to the sale and ultimately selected a lender who closed in seven days.”

“We are certain UCLA will be an outstanding steward of the campus for the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro in the South Bay of Los Angeles,” said Brian Marcotte, President of MCU.

“UCLA has been a crucial nexus of education, research and public service within Los Angeles for more than 100 years,” said UCLA’s Chancellor Gene Block in a message to the UCLA community announcing the news. “As demand for our academic offerings continues to grow, this acquisition will allow us to expand student access in line with UC’s 2030 goals, strengthen our connections to the greater L.A. region, and deepen our institution’s research and public service impact.”

Additional details about the campus include:

MCU Oceanview Campus: The MCU campus is a fully operable college campus on 24 acres of land with unobstructed ocean views in Rancho Palos Verdes. The MCU campus is comprised of 12.6 spectacular acres with ocean views, 10 buildings, a chapel, a library, tennis courts and a swimming pool. The remaining 11+ acres is vacant land.

The Villas Student Housing: The Villas is a fully operable student housing complex with 86 townhouse style units offering more than 350 beds on approximately 11 acres of land in northwest San Pedro, six miles away from the MCU campus. Each townhouse has its own attached garage and private balcony. Community amenities include a guarded gate entry, basketball court, sand volleyball court, a swimming pool, central pavilion and a fitness center. There are approximately 1.7 acres of vacant land adjacent to The Villas included in the sale.

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