Courtesy of Bain Capital Real Estate and Bardas Investment Group
A rendering of the new Echelon Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard between Wilton and St. Andrews.
Bardas Investment Group and Bain Capital locked down a $300M construction loan for their major soundstage development on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood.
Blue Sky Servicing provided the three-year financing, The Real Deal reported. The loan has a one-year extension option, but additional terms weren’t disclosed in loan documents filed with Los Angeles County, according to TRD. A representative for Bardas declined to comment on the loan.
Bardas and Bain’s project at 5601 W. Santa Monica Blvd. will create about 610K SF of production and creative space on the 5.5-acre site. It will operate under the Echelon Studios banner.
There are seven other Echelon projects in Los Angeles, three of which are in the pre-development stages. The developers have said the one on Santa Monica Boulevard could be up and running in 2026.
The entertainment industry in Los Angeles hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Employment in the film and recording industries in LA County has hovered around 100,000 through April, approximately 20% less than pre-pandemic levels, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Undaunted, developers had more than 1.4M SF of soundstages under construction in LA County as of the first quarter, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report.