Lendlease Project in Baldwin Hills Lands $316M Loan

Lendlease and Aware Super have snagged $316 million in construction financing for a mixed-use project containing 260 luxury apartments in Baldwin Hills.

The Australia-based developer and pension fund secured the loan for Habitat, a 461,000-square-foot, two-building project at 3401 South La Cienega Boulevard, the Commercial Observer reported. It would replace a 3.5-acre storage facility.

Barings and Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate provided the hybrid financing package for the approved project east of Culver City.

Part of the deal employs C-PACE funding on the sustainable portions of the project, including a 125-kilowatt solar array. The development is designed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, both in its construction and operation, when complete in early 2026.

Plans for the project include a 12-story, 260-unit “ultra luxury” apartment building; a six-story, 253,000-square-foot office building; and 2,900 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants. An underground garage would serve 785 cars.

The project, designed by New York-based ShoP Architects, would feature a residential tower and office building with upper-level setbacks to create terrace decks. The office building would include mass timber in its design.

An acre park, designed by Downtown L.A.-based Relm, would fill out the “live-work-thrive” campus and it would open onto a bike path near Metro’s La Cienega/Jefferson Station.

Sustainable aspects of the development include 64 electric vehicle parking spots, more than 220 bicycle parking spaces, natural ventilation and lower-carbon concrete.

Lendlease bought the development site in 2021 for $92 million, with plans for its first project in Los Angeles. Three years ago, the project was estimated to cost $600 million.

Habitat isn’t the only mixed-use development near Culver City to secure multimillion-dollar financing, according to the Observer.

Hackman Capital Partners and Affinius Capital landed a $75 million refinancing package this month from Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo to build Culver Steps, an office and retail project anchored by Amazon Studios and luxury grocer Erewhon.

— Dana Bartholomew