Manhattan Beach Studios Shopped As Possible Defense Tech Site
Lenders on Hackman Capital Partners' Manhattan Beach Studios are selling its $240M mortgage, leaning on the South Bay submarket's booming aerospace and defense technology industries in its marketing materials.
“There’s never been a more perfect site for advanced manufacturing,” Cushman & Wakefield Vice Chair Kevin Donner told Bloomberg. “People have been tracking it for a long time.”
Cushman has the listing for the 15-soundstage campus. Deutsche Bank AG and Kennedy Wilson are the lenders on the property.
The South Bay has been a magnet for defense tech and aerospace companies to grow as federal funding for their products increases. Established companies including Raytheon and Northrop Grumman as well as newer heavy-hitters such as SpaceX have made their home in the submarket. These tenants accounted for 11% of new industrial real estate leases since the start of 2025, according to Newmark.
Hackman Capital Partners bought Manhattan Beach Studios in 2019 in a $650M deal. The property became part of Hackman's large portfolio of studio real estate that has struggled to stay afloat as interest rates rose and the entertainment industry weathered strikes and changes to the way it does business. Lenders filed a notice of default on the property in June.
Another Hackman property, Studio City's Radford Studio Center, was repossessed by lenders led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and is slated to sell to Netflix at a large discount.
Hackman hasn't handed Manhattan Beach Studios back yet, Bloomberg reported. It is in lease negotiations with more than four potential new tenants, a representative for Hackman told Bloomberg, adding that lenders are also interested in financing the site, he said.
