Malibu’s largest commercial project nabs $130M construction loan

Pacific Equity Properties has secured a $130 million construction loan for Cross Creek Ranch Malibu, a rare large-scale mixed-use development in Malibu.

Related Companies subsidiary Related Fund Management provided the loan for the 112,000-square-foot project. Pacific Equity announced the deal. Integrated Capital Management advised on the loan and also has “a sizable equity investment in the project,” according to the news release.

The 13-acre complex will include 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 42,000 square feet of office space. The project, not far from Legacy Park and the Malibu Pier, is expected to be completed in 2023. Marmol Radziner is designing the property. The project is located at 23465 Civic Center Way.

Its total size makes it the largest development approved in Malibu since the city was incorporated 30 years ago, according to a report in Commercial Property Executive. Malibu city officials cleared the project about a year ago, but the financing process slowed when the pandemic hit.

Despite the complications, Pacific Equity and its partners broke ground on the project, a move the firm said helped secure financing.

Malibu, whose luxury residential market has been on a tear, is light on retail and commercial areas. Most of that activity is concentrated around the small city center where Cross Creek Ranch is planned. The late media mogul Jerry Perenchio accumulated a large portfolio of properties in Malibu’s commercial areas, which hit the market a few years ago. The city is also currently reviewing a proposal for a 39-room hotel about a mile southeast along the Pacific Coast Highway.