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Downtown LA Property With Banksy Mural Sells for Less Than What Sellers Hoped

Local Lawyer Closes on Deal To Buy Office Property Featuring UK Artist's Work
The 908-910 S. Broadway building in downtown Los Angeles that features a mural done by elusive U.K. artist Banksy has a new owner. (CoStar)
The 908-910 S. Broadway building in downtown Los Angeles that features a mural done by elusive U.K. artist Banksy has a new owner. (CoStar)
CoStar News
December 1, 2022 | 8:14 P.M.

An office building in downtown Los Angeles with U.K. artist Banksy's "Girl on a Swing" mural has sold.

Local personal injury attorney Farid Yaghoubtil paid $8.5 million for the roughly 26,000-square-foot building at 908-910 S. Broadway in a deal that closed Nov. 30, according to court records.

Yaghoubtil plans to operate his law firm, Downtown L.A. Law Group, out of the building and the mural will stay where it is, he told CoStar News.

"The mural represents the ethos of our firm," Yaghoubtil said. "We have no plans on removing it. It provides something for the community to enjoy. The prior owners were amazing stewards of the building. We hope to carry on that same level of care."

The seller was Tarina Tarantino Management LLC, an entity tied to Alfonso Campos and Tarina Tarantino, that marketed the building with the 13 foot-by-33-foot mural as a work of art, not just a commercial real estate asset, and hoped to fetch $30 million for it.

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Other works by the elusive artist, whose true name and identity aren't known, have sold for more than $20 million. However, Banksy murals usually have been cut off from buildings and resold instead of both the building and mural selling together.

Campos and Tarantino sold the L.A. building after running into financial hardships during the pandemic and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Central District of California.

Yaghoubtil was the highest bidder for the property in the court-approved marketing and bidding process via auction. Northbrook, Illinois-based Hilco Real Estate was the listing agent and received a $382,500 commission for the sale, according to bankruptcy records.

The purchase price equates to roughly $326 per square foot, which is below the downtown Los Angeles average of $448 per square foot for office buildings, according to CoStar data. Campos and Tarantino purchased the downtown L.A. building without the mural for $4 million in June 2007.

Campos and Tarantino found themselves both building owner and art steward after the Banksy mural appeared on the side of the property in 2010. Banksy's documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" was premiering in Los Angeles when the mural was created. The previous owners weren't aware of the identity of the artist behind the mural until after the art was completed.

Banksy created the entire mural, including the "PARKING" lettering with the faded "-ING" that is interpreted by some that downtown Los Angeles has too many parking lots and not enough parks. The building, ironically, also lacks parking.

Over the years, the previous owners have had to fend off attempts to cover up or destroy the mural. The mural is now fenced off but it can be seen a few steps away from the sidewalk.

The building, built in 1914, had a long history before Banksy. The seven-story structure was featured in the 1923 Harold Lloyd film "Safety Last!" and is located along a historic stretch of movie theaters on Broadway.

For the Record

Hilco Real Estate's Jonathan Cuticelli was the listing broker.

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