CIM Group invests in commercial property on behalf of large institutions such as pensions. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned $29.2 billion worth of commercial property.

CIM Group
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
FounderShaul Kuba
Avi Shemesh
Richard Ressler
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Number of employees
1,000
Websitewww.cimgroup.com

History

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The company was founded in 1994 by Shaul Kuba, Richard Ressler, and Avi Shemesh. Kuba and Shemesh are childhood friends that emigrated to the United States from Israel in the 1980s, where they set up a landscaping business. Ressler, a former investment banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert, became a landscaping customer and then joined them to invest in real estate.[1]

In 2004, the company acquired the site for Hollywood & Highland, which included the Tiffany Theater. It redeveloped the property and sold it in 2019 for $325 million; however, it did not sell the Dolby Theatre which is on the property.[2]

In the early 2000s, the company developed much of the Third Street Promenade.[3]

In 2005, in partnership with JBG Smith, the company acquired the Marriott Wardman Park hotel from Thayer Lodging Group for $300 million.[4]

In February 2007, the company acquired the BB&T Center for $117 million.[5] In June 2017, it sold the property to Arden Group for $148.8 million.[6]

In October 2008, the company acquired the Ordway Building, the tallest building in Oakland, California as part of a $412 million acquisition from Brandywine Realty Trust.[7]

In 2008, the company completed the development of The 88, the tallest building in San Jose, California.[8]

In 2010, the company acquired the site of the former Drake Hotel in Manhattan for $305 million and began construction of 432 Park Avenue on the site.[1] It also acquired 15 William, its first investment in the Financial District, Manhattan.[9]

In April 2012, the company acquired the site of 108 North State Street for $84 million from Bank of America, which had foreclosed upon the property.[10]

In 2013, the company partnered with Kushner Companies to acquire 2 Rector Street. It sold the property in March 2016.[9]

In November 2013, the company completed the development of the Downtown Grand in Las Vegas.[11]

In 2013, in partnership with Ben Shaoul, the company acquired part of the Verizon Building for $247 million for residential conversion.[12]

In February 2014, the company acquired Two California Plaza.[13] It also acquired Monclair Place.[14]

In July 2014, the company invested in Westlands Solar Park, a photovoltaic power station.[15]

In August 2016, the company partnered with Kushner Companies to acquire the Jehovah's Witnesses’ Watchtower building in Brooklyn for $340 million in one of the largest transactions to date in Brooklyn.[16]

In March 2017, the company sold the then headquarters of the Charles Schwab Corporation to The Blackstone Group for $313 million.[17]

In October 2017, the company acquired the Montague–Court Building, then the largest office tower in Brooklyn, for $171 million from SL Green Realty.[18]

In October 2017, the company acquired Uber's building in Oakland, California for $175 million.[19]

In February 2018, the company acquired Cole Capital, which had $7.6 billion in real estate assets, from VEREIT.[20]

In 2018, the company completed renovations to 425 South Financial Place.[21]

In April 2020, the company agreed to buy Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza for more than $100 million with plans to convert the former Sears and Walmart into offices to drive more foot traffic into the remaining retail stores.[22] However, in June 2020, the sale was cancelled due to community opposition to the plan without a residential component.[23]

In May 2020, the company and partner Golub & Company received approval to develop Tribune East Tower, the second tallest building in Chicago.[24]

In August 2020, the company acquired 5 towers in Alexandria, Virginia for $506 million in one of the largest apartment transactions ever in Northern Virginia.[25]

During May 2023, CIM announced a new project at 5252 W. Adams Boulevard, the project consists of a three-story office building with a ground floor commercial space and a parking garage basement. The building is expected to include 32,600 square feet for rent. The building is to be designed by 64North.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Karmin, Craig (October 19, 2011). "New York Placing Tallest Order". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ "CIM Group Sells Hollywood & Highland® – Retains Ownership of Dolby Theatre®" (Press release). Business Wire. August 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Range McDonald, Patrick (September 2, 2009). "CIM Group: Hollywood's Richest Slumlord". LA Weekly.
  4. ^ Hedgpeth, Dana (July 4, 2005). "New Owners Have Plans for District Hotel". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ "BB&T building sells for $117M". American City Business Journals. February 6, 2007.
  6. ^ Fahey, Ashley (June 14, 2017). "BB&T Center sells for $148.5M to Arden Group". American City Business Journals.
  7. ^ Saunders, Jessica (October 8, 2008). "CIM Group closes $412.5M purchase of Brandywine Oakland portfolio". American City Business Journals.
  8. ^ Conrad, Katherine (November 19, 2007). "Downtown S.J. welcomes high rise living". The Mercury News.
  9. ^ a b "CIM Group and Kushner Companies Close Sale of Historic Office and Retail Building at 2 Rector Street in Manhattan's Financial District" (Press release). Business Wire. March 21, 2016.
  10. ^ Gallun, Alby (December 6, 2016). "Block 37 mall put up for sale: report". Crain Communications.
  11. ^ "CIM Group Announces Opening of Downtown Grand Las Vegas Hotel and Casino" (Press release). Business Wire. November 11, 2013.
  12. ^ Hughes, C. J. (July 22, 2014). "Verizon Slims Down, to Developers' Delight". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Vincent, Roger (February 13, 2014). "With sale of Two California Plaza, Bunker Hill is poised for comeback". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Allen, David (February 12, 2014). "Montclair Plaza acquired by Hollywood-based CIM Group". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
  15. ^ Nidever, Seth (July 9, 2014). "Kings County solar project gets financial backing". Scripps League Newspapers.
  16. ^ Clarke, Katherine (August 4, 2016). "Kushner, CIM & LIVWRK close on $340M Watchtower buy". The Real Deal.
  17. ^ Torres, Blanca (March 29, 2017). "San Francisco landlord reaps $200 million from sale of Schwab HQ office building". American City Business Journals.
  18. ^ Bockmann, Rich (October 12, 2017). "Barclays, Citi provide CIM with loan to buy 16 Court St". The Real Deal.
  19. ^ Li, Roland (October 30, 2017). "CIM Group in contract to buy Uber's Oakland building". American City Business Journals.
  20. ^ "Affiliate of CIM Group Acquires Cole Capital® from VEREIT®" (Press release). Business Wire. February 1, 2018.
  21. ^ Ward, Joe (July 30, 2019). "CIM Group refinances Central Loop tower after completing renovation". The Real Deal.
  22. ^ Buhayar, Noah; Wong, Natalie (May 12, 2020). "Who Buys a $100 Million Shopping Mall in the Middle of a Pandemic?". Bloomberg Businessweek.
  23. ^ Vincent, Roger (June 15, 2020). "Developer drops plan to buy Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and add offices, not housing". Los Angeles Times.
  24. ^ Cherone, Heather (May 19, 2020). "Chicago's Skyline Set to Change as Aldermen OK Plan for Tribune Tower East". WTTW.
  25. ^ "CIM's $500M multifamily buy in Northern Virginia among priciest ever". The Real Deal. August 30, 2020.
  26. ^ Sharp, Steven (2023-05-02). "CIM breaks ground on new offices at 5252 W Adams Boulevard". Urbanize LA. Retrieved 2023-05-02.