After years of waiting and a whole lot of paperwork, a long‑planned mixed‑use project on La Cienega in Beverly Hills has just locked in a crucial piece of its capital stack.
Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) announced it has arranged an $85 million construction loan for a six‑story development at 55 North La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The project is slated to bring 140 luxury apartments and about 13,303 square feet of ground‑floor retail, totaling roughly 297,771 square feet of space. According to the sponsor, the new financing clears a major hurdle for a site that has been tangled in permitting issues for more than a decade.
In a press release via Business Wire, MMCC said Sharone Sabar of its Encino office secured the loan on behalf of a private investor through a national banking institution. The loan is a four‑year construction facility structured at 65% loan‑to‑cost. The sponsor acquired the site in October 2014, following more than a decade of entitlement work. Sabar said the deal reflects what he described as lender confidence in the long‑term fundamentals of the Beverly Hills market.
How it cleared approvals
The development did not glide through City Hall. The proposal went through multiple public hearings, design changes and a lengthy review before both the Beverly Hills Planning Commission and City Council, as detailed in earlier coverage of the upscaled redo of the former Stinking Rose site. Local reporting from the Beverly Press notes that appeals and CEQA concerns stretched the entitlement timeline and triggered additional studies before the city signed off.
The development team leaned on California's density‑bonus rules to sharpen its case. The project will include 22 affordable units, with 11 reserved for low‑income households and 11 for moderate‑income households. That affordability component helped the proposal move forward through the city review process.
What the plan includes
MMCC's announcement describes a high‑amenity complex intended to compete at the top of the market. According to Business Wire, plans call for a rooftop deck and resort‑style pool, an on‑site restaurant and bar, a coffee shop, a recreation lounge, a theater, wet and dry saunas, conference facilities, private workspaces and a communal kitchen.
The project will also feature a three‑level subterranean parking structure with 177 spaces. MMCC describes the development as likely to become the largest residential complex in Beverly Hills history, a notable distinction in a city better known for single‑family mansions than large apartment buildings.
Why lenders signed on
For lenders, the pitch appears to be a blend of transit access, neighborhood appeal and a tight housing pipeline. The site sits in a walkable stretch of the La Cienega corridor and is directly next to the future Wilshire/La Cienega Metro station, a selling point highlighted by Urbanize LA and other local reporting.
MMCC also pointed to the Westside's constrained supply of new housing and a tight rental market as key reasons lenders were comfortable backing a large, high‑amenity project. In that context, transit proximity combined with density‑bonus‑driven affordability helped justify the sizable construction facility in an otherwise heavily built‑out and supply‑constrained submarket.
The four‑year construction loan gives the developer a defined window to complete and stabilize the property. City permit filings and future company updates will ultimately spell out the construction schedule and opening timeline as the La Cienega project moves from paperwork to shovels in the ground.
