Bardas and Bain land $300M construction loan for Hollywood studios

Bardas Investment Group and Bain Capital have scored a $300 million construction loan for their Echelon Studios project in Hollywood, The Real Deal has learned. 

Blue Sky Servicing, registered in Delaware, provided the three-year loan, which has a one-year extension option, for the development of 5601 West Santa Monica Boulevard, according to loan documents filed with Los Angeles County. Financial terms of the loan were not disclosed. 

The construction loan values Bardas and Bain’s debt basis on the 600,000-square-foot office and studio project at $500 a square foot. Neither Bardas nor a representative for the project responded to a request for comment. 

Bardas and Bain are planning to build 110,000 square feet of studio space and 388,000 square feet of office space, plus 12,000 square feet of restaurant space across the 5.5-acre site. It will also have 90,000 square feet of bungalows with offices, according to plans filed with the City of Los Angeles. 

In March, the Los Angeles City Council voted to greenlight plans for the site, which currently houses a 98,000-square-foot commercial building that will be demolished. Bardas and Bain started construction last month, according to an announcement, with plans to open the development in 2026. 

The project is one of many under Bardas’ Echelon studio brand in Hollywood. The firm plans to build 115,000 square feet of production space at 1200 Cahuenga Boulevard, 152,000 square feet of office at 1151 Las Palmas Avenue and more than 200,000 square feet at 6311 Romaine Street. 

Nearby, Hudson Pacific Properties plans to build a 134,000-square-foot movie studio at 6650 Romaine Street. The project stands across the street from the 369,000-square-foot Sunset Las Palmas studio complex, which Hudson Pacific bought in 2017.