Pasadena Bank CIT Makes Partnership Purchase of Hollywood Apartments

Pasadena-based CIT Bank, partnering with the investment firm Canyon Partners Real Estate in Century City, has purchased the Harvey Apartments in Hollywood, a four-story, 177-unit apartment building that includes 1,900 square feet of ground retail space at 5640 Santa Monica Blvd.

The sale came via the Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund III, a joint venture between CIT Bank and Canyon Partners, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported Tuesday.

CIT’s real estate finance business provided a $20.4 million senior loan to fund the purchase as well as capital improvements, including creation of an outdoor community space and revamping its ground-floor retail. The property, designed by William H. Kraemer and built in 1927, was originally called the El Cortez. It will now be renamed The Derby Hollywood.

FPI Management of Folsom, will serve as The Derby Hollywood’s property manager.

Seattle-based developer Timberlane Partners bought the property in 2015 for $15.3 million, or more than $86,100 per unit, according to CoStar Group Inc.

The Harvey, located several blocks west of the 101 freeway, features 80-foot-tall murals of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Beatles.