Michael J. Connell was born in Ireland in 1854. He immigrated to the USA as a young man and became successful in several different ventures. At the turn of the twentieth century, he moved to Los Angeles and built the first garment and textile manufacturing buildings, effectively starting the Fashion District.

Connell build his first garment and textile buildings in 1911. He continued to build throughout the decade and in 1916 he hired architect Frank Stiff to design several properties, including the building that is now Cornell Lofts. In 1958, the building was upgraded. In 2001, because of their rich history, the Cornell Lofts building along with its neighbors the Eckardt building and the Santee Court building were designated Los Angeles historic monuments.

At some point in the mid twentieth century, the Cornell building and its neighbors were bought by businessman Arthur Gerry. He in turn sold the buildings to MJW Investments in 1998. MJW had also acquired four other buildings in the area and all the buildings were converted to lofts. The first lofts began selling in 2004.

In 2008, MJW defaulted on a construction loan and the Cornell, Eckhardt and Santee Court buildings ended up in the hands of the Bank of America. In 2010, the investment team of Kennedy Wilson and RECP/Urban Partners bought the unsold units, finished the work that needed to be done, and put the units back on market.

If you would like to find out more about these amazing lofts please contact DLTA Real Estate.com!