Multifamily investment, development and management firm CGI Real Estate Investment Strategies (CGI) has announced that Michael DiSimone has joined the company as Director of Acquisitions to help lead its expansion into Texas and the Western United States with an investment goal of $500 million in the next 12 months. 

In addition to a robust pipeline of mixed-use and multifamily development projects in Los Angeles and New York City, CGI currently manages an approximately $1 billion portfolio that includes multifamily and extended stay corporate housing located in California, New York, Georgia and Florida.  

DiSimone, who over the course of his 15-year career has sourced, marketed and closed approximately $1.5 billion in multifamily acquisitions, will target institutional quality assets for CGI and its capital partners, which include family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals.  CGI has identified Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas and the Pacific Northwest as new markets for CGI investment.   

“Michael is a key addition to our growing acquisitions team that will be responsible for the implementation of an aggressive five-year growth plan with a goal of $5 billion in assets under management in five years,” said CGI founder and CEO Gidi Cohen.   “DiSimone’s hire is part of a dynamic infrastructure we are building within CGI that is allowing us to expand our geographic footprint, increase the size of our investments and grow our investor base.”  

DiSimone joins an experienced acquisitions team that includes Managing Partner Mark Cohen, who leads the East Coast effort and Director Andre Soroudi who oversees development acquisitions on the West Coast.  

Prior to joining CGI Strategies, DiSimone was Director of Acquisitions for Santa Monica, CA-based MJW Investments.  Previously he was an Associate Director at Institutional Property Advisors and a Senior Vice President at JRK Property Holdings.   

DiSimone earned his BS in Business Administration from San Diego State University, and a JD and LL.M. at Golden Gate University School of Law.

CGI Real Estate Investment Strategies (CGI) has named luxury hotel industry veteran Kasia Mays as Chief Operating Officer, furthering its commitment to building a multifamily brand  that places emphasis on lifestyle and  hospitality, announced company founder and CEO Gidi Cohen. 

Mays brings to CGI nearly two decades  of experience in the four- and five-Diamond luxury sectors of the hospitality industry  holding senior level management positons at Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, CA, MGM Grand, The Mansion, La Costa Resort and Spa, St. Regis Monarch Beach, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa and The Resort at Pelican Hill. Her passion for ensuring consumer satisfaction and eye for luxury and elevated design made her the perfect candidate to further our  best-in-class residential experience, according to Cohen.

“We conducted an exhaustive search for a chief operating officer who could help us  in our mission to shape and elevate the future of living spaces while at the same time enrich and inspire our partnerships with investors and residents, as well as the the communities we serve,” said Cohen.   “With experience that speaks for itself, and values that align with ours, Kasia stood out among the rest and we are excited to embark upon the next chapter of CGI together.”

Los Angeles-based CGI with regional offices in Atlanta and New York, manages a $900 million portfolio that includes multifamily, and extended stay corporate housing located in California, New York and key cities in the Southeastern and Southwestern U.S., particularly in underserved secondary and tertiary markets.  

Mays will lead the organization’s culture, brand, mission, vision, and values as well as lead all marketing and public relations strategies, human resources, IT, and investor relations.

"I was immediately impressed with CGI’s passion to enrich lives, build thoughtful communities and strategically grow portfolios through conscientious multifamily real estate development, acquisition, and management,” said Mays.  “Our core values will always support the need to fuse development and lifestyle to achieve the highest and best outcomes for people and places and that at every touch point in our business principles are seen and felt. We will always grow with intention, build projects with heart and curate success that has a soul,” she added.

Dekel Capital, on behalf of Los Angeles-based CGI Strategies, has arranged $47.8 million in non-recourse construction financing for the development of a 200-unit multifamily community in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood.

The loan, which was provided by a national lender, will be used for the construction of a seven-story concrete and wood building, over two levels of subterranean parking at 837 S. Fedora Street. The property will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 622 to 1,000 square feet.  Ten percent of the units are earmarked for low-income renters. Property amenities include a fully equipped fitness center, 6,500-square-foot community lounge and clubhouse, exterior courtyard and a 5,400-square-foot rooftop lounge.

The property is situated six blocks from the Wilshire/Normandie Metro station, providing residents with easy access to major Los Angeles employment centers, as well as recreational and entertainment venues in the area. 

Koreatown is the densest neighborhood in Los Angeles and is primed for another six percent of population growth over the next five years, according to recent research from JLL. Currently, 91 percent of Koreatown residents are renters, making it one of Los Angeles’ premier rental markets. Located four miles east of downtown Los Angeles, the submarket has a particular appeal to millennials, who are drawn to the area’s vibrant restaurant scene, relative affordability, walkability and proximity to the urban core. 

Fedora is CGI’s third ground-up multifamily development totaling 380 units in the Koreatown neighborhood in the past 36 months.

“CGI is an experienced developer that has a strong track record of developing ground-up developments and income-producing real estate in Southern California, including several other developments in the Mid-City/Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown neighborhoods” said Dekel Principal Shlomi Ronen. “Given the strength of the market and the sponsor’s expertise, we received a robust response from potential lenders.”

Construction is expected to be completed by Summer 2022.

CGI Strategies has started leasing at Astoria at Celebration, a 306-unit luxury multifamily community in Celebration, FL after completing a complex multimillion renovation.

Developed in 2015, the property was found to suffer from construction defects in 2016 and was vacated by order of the Osceola Building Department that same year.  CGI acquired the vacant community in 2019 confident it would be able to remedy the defects, according to CGI Founder Gidi Cohen.

“Our history of successfully  meeting the challenges of special situation real estate allowed us to take on this project with the confidence thatwe could make the appropriate repairs and upgrades needed to return this Class A resort community to market,” said Cohen.  “The responses we have received since completion have been extremely positive.” 

CGI immediately undertook an exhaustive analysis of the structures, which included  exposing all structural components to check for defects, making sure elements as basic as the nailing pattern were up to code. 

The work, which took just under a year to complete, included:

• Balcony repairs. Demolished and rebuilt every balcony, adding steel columns to further mitigate any future sagging issues. 
• Shear wall reconstruction. Exposed all load bearing and non-load bearing walls to verify whether they were built correctly, including ensuring that the proper blocking was installed and the appropriate nailing pattern was used.

·       Exterior wall waterproofing. Removed existing plaster and applied a new waterproofing membrane and new plaster to reduce the occurrence of leaks. 

·       Windows: Removed and replaced existing windows with new windows and flashing to protect the interiors from water intrusions

• Roof replacement. New roof system was added to prevent future leaks or issues.

After receiving final certification of occupancy earlier this month, CGI has leased 43 percent of the units,   many by former residents who were forced to vacate the property when building issues were discovered.

Astoria at Celebration features a mix of luxury one- two- and three-bedroom units located in six, four-story Art Deco inspired residential buildings, around a centralized clubhouse and pool area. The apartment homes, which range in size from 741 square feet to 1,371 square feet, feature nine-foot ceilings, fully equipped island kitchens with stainless steel appliances, 42-inch espresso cabinets, granite countertops, full-size washer and dryer, and large walk-in closets. Common area amenities include an Internet café, fitness studio, outdoor kitchenswith gas grilling stationsand dog park.

With the addition Astoria at Celebration, CGI’s multifamily portfolio in the greater Orlando metropolitan area totals approximately 500 units. 

Real estate investment and development firm CGI Strategies has started construction on a 200-unit apartment community at 837 S. Fedora in the heart of Los Angeles’ Koreatown.  Fedora, which is being developed at a cost of $50 million, is CGI’s third ground-up multifamily development in the Koreatown neighborhood in the past 36 months. 

Fedora is a seven-story concrete and wood building, over two levels of subterranean parking,  that will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 622 to 1,000 square feet.  Each unit will feature walk in closets, balconies, stone countertops, contemporary lighting fixtures and stainless steel appliances. Ten percent of the units will be dedicated for low-income earners.   Amenities will include a fully equipped fitness center, 6,500-square-foot community lounge and clubhouse, exterior courtyard and a 5,400-square-foot rooftop deck.   

With Fedora, CGI continues to establish a significant footprint in Koreatown, a vibrant submarket located four miles east of downtown Los Angeles with a proven appeal to the millennial workforce.   Having successfully brought to market 182 market-rate and affordable rental units, with an additional 121 units, 6,000 square feet of retail space and 125 hotel rooms in the pipeline, CGI is one of the most active multifamily developers in Koreatown.   

The start of construction on Fedora coincides with the completion of the nearby Mariposa, a mixed-use development with 122-unit apartment homes over 4,600 square feet of street level retail space at 269 S. Mariposa Avenue, on the northwest corner of Mariposa and W. 3rd Street.  CGI completed its first Koreatown development in 2018.   Kodo, a 60-unit mixed-use development near the Wilshire/Vermont Metro Station was sold last month to a local investment firm for $30 million.   

Members of the Fedora construction team include: Frymer Construction and KFA Architecture. 

Construction is expected to be completed in April 2022. 

CGI Strategies has acquired Sola at Celebration, a vacant 306-unit luxury multifamily community in Celebration, FL.  The property was purchased from Southstar Capital Group in a transaction valued at $43 million.

Developed by Hines in 2015, Sola was sold to Southstar at the end of 2016.  Shortly after, construction defects were discovered which resulted in the property being vacated by order of the Osceola Building Department. 

Los Angeles-based CGI, a real estate investment firm founded in 2013 to focus on strategically located multifamily and mixed-use development as well as the acquisition of special situation real estate, plans to correct the deficiencies and stabilize the asset, according to co-founder and CEO Gidi Cohen.

“I’m sure there were many who looked at Sola and were turned away by the size and scope of the corrections that needed to be made,” said Cohen.  “Having successfully dealt with projects like this in the past, at our cost basis we were confident in our ability to remedy the problems and return a true Class A resort style project to a market that exhibits exceptionally strong multifamily fundamentals.”

With repairs for the property already engineered and approved by the county, CGI will immediately begin correcting the deficiencies and anticipates that the community will be back to normal operations by the end of 2019.   

The community, which will be rebranded as Astoria at Celebration, features a mix of luxury one- two- and three-bedroom units located in six, four-story Art Deco inspired residential buildings, around a centralized clubhouse and pool area.    The apartment homes, which range in size from 741 square feet to 1,371 square feet, feature nine-foot ceilings, fully equipped island kitchens with stainless steel appliances, 42-inch espresso cabinets, granite countertops, full-size washer and dryer, and large walk in closets. Common area amenities include an internet café, fitness studio, outdoor summer kitchens, and dog park. 

With the addition Astoria at Celebration, CGI’s Florida portfolio now totals nearly 1,000 multifamily units all located within the greater Orlando MSA, according to CGI Managing Partner, Southeast Region Mark Cohen who led the acquisition team. 

Acquisition financing was arranged by Los Angeles-based Dekel Capital, led by principal Shlomi Ronen.

Shelton Granade, Jr, and Luke Wickham in the Orlando office of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.