Blackstone and LBA Realty are finalizing a $270 million commercial mortgage-backed securities refinancing for One Culver, an eight-story office building in Culver City. The 378,377-square-foot property sits near a 536,000-square-foot office building occupied by Apple, underscoring the area’s concentration of major corporate users.
Nomura Holdings originated the new CMBS loan. According to reporting cited in the original coverage, proceeds from the refinancing are slated to retire $310 million of existing debt on the asset and cover approximately $5.8 million in closing costs. Following the transaction, the venture behind One Culver is expected to retain about $248.1 million in equity at closing, indicating a meaningfully capitalized ownership structure.
Blackstone holds a 90 percent stake in One Culver, making it the majority owner of the property. The firm joined LBA Realty in the ownership venture through a $500 million recapitalization completed in 2022, giving the partnership a substantial equity position in the building. LBA originally acquired the asset, which was completed in 1986, for $159 million in 2014, before bringing in Blackstone as a capital partner.
At the time of LBA’s acquisition, Sony was the building’s sole tenant. Sony vacated the premises in 2016, prompting LBA to undertake a significant renovation and repositioning program aimed at modernizing the property and broadening its tenant appeal. The firm launched a $45 million improvement plan that included a comprehensive overhaul of the asset, with the work reaching completion in 2018.
Leasing performance at One Culver strengthened following the renovation campaign. The property achieved full occupancy by June 2021, demonstrating its ability to attract tenants after the departure of its legacy single user. That stabilized occupancy, together with the recapitalized ownership structure, underpins the newly arranged CMBS refinancing now being completed by Blackstone and LBA Realty with Nomura Holdings as lender.
The upcoming refinancing marks another capital markets milestone for One Culver, following its acquisition, repositioning, and recapitalization over the past decade. While specific loan terms such as maturity and interest rate were not disclosed, the transaction illustrates an ongoing willingness among lenders in the CMBS market to refinance fully leased, institutionally held office assets in established corporate locations such as Culver City.
