Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen has invested in Hollywood with the $69-million purchase of retail property near the legendary TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

In a bet on the future value of local real estate, Mateen and his brother Tyler bought the Hollywood Galaxy shopping center and the historic Petersen Building next door.

The purchase comes at a time when most institutional investors such as pension funds have stopped acquiring property in Los Angeles. Values of many buildings in the region, including office skyscrapers, have fallen in recent years as the loss of tenants that started during the pandemic and other factors have driven down sale prices.

The Mateens, however, see this as an opportunity. They bought prominent properties in Beverly Hills and Westchester last year and are now stakeholders in Hollywood.

Justin Mateen is known for being a co-founder of popular dating app Tinder but is also a solo venture capitalist through his JAM Fund. He and his brother have a strategy to invest in their hometown of Los Angeles during a cooling commercial real estate market because they expect the region to bounce back in the years ahead.

“I’ve always been a contrarian investor,” he said. “Whether it’s startups, public markets or real estate, I take the long view and hold through cycles for forever. While others are pulling back from cities like L.A., we’re doubling down. Its resurgence feels inevitable.”

The Mateens plan to spruce up the Hollywood property sold by Federal Realty Investment Trust and seek tenants who want to interact with the millions of tourists who visit the blocks around the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue annually.

The three-story Hollywood Galaxy shopping center, which was completed in 1990, is nearly 80% leased to tenants including Target and LA Fitness. The remaining space could go to a high-profile business such as Nintendo or Lego that wants to create an interactive, immersive attraction for Hollywood visitors, Tyler Mateen said.

The brothers are looking for tenants “who benefit off heavy foot traffic and value a large format with visibility,” he said. That might also be a flagship store for a big brand like Nike, Adidas or Sephora.

The Petersen Building at Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive, which is also part of the deal, was built in 1929 as the home of a Cadillac dealership. It’s now occupied by a Marshalls department store and La La Land souvenir shop.

Last year the Mateens and their partner Pouya Abdi bought Wilshire Rodeo Plaza, a five-story office building at Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. They are in the process of signing new retail tenants for the building and planning a rooftop restaurant.

The Mateens also bought the HHLA entertainment center in Westchester near Playa Vista last year and are in the process of refurbishing it. Among its new tenants will be Meow Wolf, an immersive entertainment firm.

All three properties are in high-profile locations where it is difficult to develop new projects, Tyler Mateen said. “We want to own assets that you can’t build again and that the market can’t ignore.”

The team behind Comedy Central’s “South Park” raised allegations that Skydance Media and its associates overstepped their authority by meddling in Paramount Global’s business before they take control of the storied company.

The Los Angeles Times previously reported that negotiations over a “South Park” streaming deal have stalled amid Paramount’s protracted $8-billion sale to David Ellison’s Skydance Media. Skydance balked at a proposed $2-billion overall deal with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, sources have said.

Federal securities laws forbid “gun-jumping,” a term that describes a company that exerts too much control over a business it is in the process of buying before the transaction closes. Under the terms of the merger deal, Paramount gave Skydance the ability to approve major deals while the sale is pending.

But this week, Park County — the business entity behind the long-running satirical cartoon — alleged that Ellison’s associates crossed the line by interfering with its negotiations with other companies.

In a series of letters, Park County questioned the conduct of Jeff Shell, a former NBCUniversal chief executive who is part of Ellison’s bidding team. Shell is a senior executive with RedBird Capital Partners, a private equity firm that is helping Skydance finance the Paramount deal.

In a Tuesday letter to RedBird’s general counsel, which was viewed by The Times, Park County’s lawyers accused Shell of committing “intrusive, unauthorized, and gun jumping misconduct” by inserting himself into the auction for “South Park” streaming rights and attempting to depress the show’s value.

The lawyers contended that “not one word” in the 160-page sale agreement between Skydance and Paramount authorized Skydance or Redbird to “intrude” into negotiations over “South Park” streaming deals.

“This misconduct is already causing destruction not only to the business of ‘South Park’… but also the productive decades-long relationship between artists and studio on an iconic show,” the lawyers wrote.

A spokeswoman for Skydance disputed misconduct by Shell, adding, “Any accusation that Jeff Shell tried to lower the price or devalue the franchise in any way is not only nonsensical but patently false.”

“Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts,” the spokeswoman continued.

The dispute comes as the “South Park” creators work to line up a new streaming deal after its five-year pact with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max service ended this week. Paramount wants to make the long-running Comedy Central show available on its Paramount+ platform. However, given the high cost of the show, Paramount wants to share the rights to the 333 episodes with another streaming service.

Knowledgeable people have said they expect “South Park” distribution fees to be valued at more than $200 million a year.

But Skydance hasn’t signed off, believing the deals to be too rich, according to multiple sources. Paramount executives think the show is worth the big bucks, given its enduring global popularity and legacy.

Park County has alleged Shell inserted himself into negotiations with two prospective partners: Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. Both have expressed interest in licensing the show.

Park County accused Shell of calling executives at those companies to lower their bids for “South Park,” which would deprive Parker, Stone and Paramount of a higher licensing fee.

Paramount owns half of a joint venture called South Park Digital Studios, which controls the streaming rights to the show. Stone and Parker control the other half of the venture that dates back to 2007.

“Mr. Shell’s proposed changes worsen the deal for South Park Digital Studios, and they appear to be designed to cheapen the business of Skydance Media’s acquisition target, Paramount Global,” Park County lawyer Joseph R. Taylor wrote in a Monday letter to Paramount executives.

“This misconduct is already causing destruction not only to the business of South Park through depressing offers for the [Subscription Video On Demand] rights, but also the productive decades-long relationship between artists and studio on an iconic show,” Taylor wrote. “Further misconduct of this nature will naturally force legal action.”

Two sources close to the matter said that Skydance has objected to the 10-year span of the proposed deals with Paramount+ and Max (soon to be renamed HBO Max) as well as the 10-year span for the overall deal with Parker and Stone. Skydance, the sources said, preferred five-year deals due to changes in the market.

Max’s current deal to stream “South Park” ended this week. However, due to the company’s interest in bidding for the rights, the episodes will remain on the service until a new deal can be worked out, said one person close to the company who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Paramount leaders want to lock down “South Park” streaming rights in the U.S. and abroad and were interested in extending Paramount’s $900-million overall deal with the “South Park” creators to guarantee the production of new episodes. But that deal doesn’t expire for another two years, and Skydance executives don’t want to extend that deal before they take control of Paramount, according to sources.

New episodes run first on Paramount’s basic cable network Comedy Central.

“South Park” is one of Paramount’s most important TV franchises. Along with “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, the four boys from the fictional Colorado hamlet of South Park put Comedy Central on the map for basic cable viewers.

During a May earnings call, Paramount co-Chief Executive Chris McCarthy — who runs Paramount’s media networks as well as Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios — told investors that “South Park” episodes would begin streaming on Paramount+ in July, although that deal has not been nailed down.