Hackman Capital Partners, Affinius Capital Land $75M Refi for L.A. Mixed-Use Property

An eight-figure refinancing package for a property with Amazon Studios and high-end grocery chain Erewhon as tenants? Just add it to the cart. 

Hackman Capital Partners (HCP) and Affinius Capital have landed a $75 million loan toward Culver Steps, an office and retail mixed-use property at 9300 Culver Boulevard in Culver City, Calif., according to The Real Deal. Affinius is the 1-year-old investment management platform of USAA Real Estate and Square Mile Capital (itself acquired by USAA in 2021). 

Deutsche Bank (DB) and Wells Fargo (WFC) were the lenders of the five-year, fixed-rate loan — 45 percent of which was packaged into a commercial mortgage-backed securities deal, per TRD, citing a Fitch Ratings report. Deutsche Bank provided $56.2 million in financing toward the project in late 2017, followed by a $90 million loan provided by Aareal Capital in late 2020, according to Commercial Observer reporting at the time. 

Amazon Studios leases the entire four-story, 122,000-square-foot office component of the building, which expires in 2031, while Erewhon anchors the retail space with 15,000 square feet. Other retail tenants include Sephora, Philz Coffee and Mendocino Farms. 

Formerly a parking lot redeveloped by Hackman, Culver Steps officially opened in 2019.

Representatives for HCP, Affinius and Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. 

Culver City-based HCP is the largest owner and operator of independent film and television studio space in the world, with a portfolio of 19 studios and 145 active sound stages with another 60 in development, according to its website. 

Yet the firm is still adjusting to Southern California’s office crunch as it expands on its studio empire. 

HCP announced in April that it planned to cut a 15-story office tower from its redevelopment of Television City studios in L.A.’s Fairfax neighborhood. Plans for the project still include the construction of nine new soundstages, alongside the preservation of four stages built in the 1950s, a separate 15-story office tower and retail space. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.