CBRE Secures $130 Million Construction Financing for East End Studios - Mission Campus

CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt and Structured Finance has secured $130 million in construction financing for the development of a state-of-the-art studio campus in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. The project, with a total cost of approximately $230 million, is already under construction and expected to be completed by Q4 2025.

The hi-tech production facility, named East End Studios - Mission Campus, will sit on five acres within the Thirty Mile Zone at 2233-2251 Jesse Street. The campus will feature five best-in-class sound stages spanning 100,000 square feet via column-free structures and 42-foot clear heights, ample parking, accessible loading docks, outdoor spaces, and over 150,000 square feet of offices, post-production workspaces, talent suites, commissary, and mill areas. The property is immediately adjacent to the Sixth Street Park, Arts, and River Connectivity project - or "PARC" - featuring grass fields, picnic areas, and event spaces.

A CBRE Debt and Structured Finance team led by Greg Grant advised the owner, East End Studios, in the construction financing process and facilitated non-recourse financing via two balance sheet lenders.

“While Los Angeles is the most expansive and diverse production market in the world, it remains under-supplied with modern purpose-built stages and fully integrated campuses,” said Jonathon Yormak, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of East End Capital.

Upon completion, East End Studios - Mission Campus will offer cast and crew full-service content creation experience with cutting-edge technology. The facility has been designed to meet the evolving needs of the film industry, with efficient workflows and a technological backbone that fully supports virtual production. East End Studios – Mission Campus will also be meeting all CALGreen standards, which prioritize energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials/resource conservation, and indoor environmental quality.

“Demand for premier, purpose-built studio space remains strong in Los Angeles, and is expected to further accelerate as we enter the 2025 production cycle” said Greg Grant, Senior Vice President, CBRE. “Ultimately it was East End’s studio expertise and state-of-the-art design that gave our capital sources conviction in the project.”

According to CBRE research, Los Angeles has the largest amount of film and production space in North America, with over 7.3 million square feet. Studio space in Los Angeles is in demand, with an average annual occupancy of 93.5% between 2016 and 2022, according to local operators.