Hudson Pacific scores construction loan for studio

Hudson Pacific Properties and Blackstone have scored a $94 million construction loan to build a portion of their planned studio development in the San Fernando Valley.

RBC Capital Markets provided the loan in December to a limited liability company linked to Hudson Pacific, records show. Hudson Pacific announced the deal in a quarterly earnings release on Wednesday, but did not disclose the lender.

In July, Hudson Pacific and Blackstone announced the duo were planning to build a $190 million studio complex across 10 acres on Peoria Street in Sun Valley named Sunset Glenoaks.

Sunset Glenoaks will be Hudson Pacific and Blackstone’s fourth studio development together — the firms already own Sunset Gower, Sunset Bronson and Sunset Las Palmas in Hollywood — giving it 42 soundstages altogether.

RBC is one of many institutional lenders cashing in on studio development. In August of last year, just after the firms announced Sunset Glenoaks, the companies scored $1.1 billion in refinancing for the entire studio portfolio from Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Societe Generale.

On an earnings call Thursday, Hudson Pacific said construction has already started on Sunset Glenoaks, with opening slated for 2024.

The Los Angeles-based commercial landlord reported $240.5 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of last year, a slight increase compared to the previous quarter.

The firm did swing back to profitability, with $8.1 million in net income in the fourth quarter, compared with a $9.3 million net loss in the third quarter. The year-ago loss was mostly attributed to a jump in operating expenses and costs associated with several major acquisitions.

Outside of the studio world, the firm is still heavily focused on office properties. In the fourth quarter, Hudson Pacific finished its 584,000-square-foot One Westside project — a former mall that was redeveloped into office space and is leased to Google.