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Hollywood investor CIM Group buys prominent downtown L.A. tower

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One of the tallest office buildings in downtown Los Angeles has been acquired by Hollywood-based real estate investor CIM Group in an unusual portfolio sale that also included a regional shopping center in Montclair, a high-rise in Anaheim and a hotel in Bakersfield.

The crown jewel of the seven properties acquired by CIM Group was Two California Plaza, a prestigious but troubled skyscraper on Bunker Hill where gleaming office towers erected during the last building boom decades ago are having a tough time attracting tenants.

Downtown’s center of gravity in recent years has shifted a few blocks south, where new housing, bars and restaurants have transformed the financial district that lies in easy walking distance of Staples Center and the emerging South Park neighborhood.

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But Bunker Hill is poised for a comeback as new owners bring millions of dollars to invest in property improvements and new attractions including the $130 million Broad Museum come to life, said Shaul Kuba, a principal of CIM Group.

“Bunker Hill already has a phenomenal collection of real estate,” including US Bank Tower, the tallest building in the West,” Kuba said. “With all the renovation and repositioning that is happening, you will start seeing some serious tenant moves.”

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The plaza, which also includes elaborate dancing-water fountains, is at the top of the city’s famous funicular railway Angels Flight that dates to 1901 and is linked to the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Broker John Zanetos of CBRE Group Inc. represented CWCapital Asset Management of Maryland in the sale of Two California Plaza and six other properties to CIM Group for an undisclosed price.

The sale was part of a $2.57-billion portfolio of U.S. properties that special servicer CWCapital took over and eventually auctioned off after their owners failed to keep up mortgage payments.

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roger.vincent@latimes.com

Twitter: @rogervincent

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