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Hileman Cowley Partners and LLJ Ventures Announce Sale of Comcast Esports Studio to Nuveen
[April 16, 2021]

Hileman Cowley Partners and LLJ Ventures Announce Sale of Comcast Esports Studio to Nuveen


Hileman Cowley Partners, a joint venture between Hileman Real Estate Companies and Cowley Real Estate Partners, and LLJ Ventures, the private equity arm of the LM Group, today announced the sale of Comcast (News - Alert) Esports Studios ("The Property") to Nuveen.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210416005538/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

(Photo: Business Wire)

Located in the heart of the Burbank / Glendale Media Triangle, Comcast Esports Studios, now under construction, will be a state-of-the-art production, streaming, and broadcast facility. Equipped with two sound stages, two production studios, open working areas, outdoor space and lifestyle amenities, the Property is designed to be a hub for the next generation of digital content production and distribution for the esports and gaming industries. The campus is 100% leased to Comcast Spectacor, part of the Comcast NBCUniversal family. Comcast Spectacor, best known as the owner of the Philadelphia Flyers professional hockey team and the Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Center sports and entertainment complex in downtown Philadelphia, is a global leader in the booming esports and "techtainment" industry. This facility will act as their new content production headquarters in support of esports and gaming, a $100+ billion-dollar global industry that has exponentially exploded during the past year's pandemic lockdowns.

The campus, formerly known as Victory Studios given its location on Victory Blvd, was previously the home of the Telepictures division of Warner Brothers/Warner Media. During their 20-year occupancy, the sound stages there became the genesis of hit television shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, and countless other long running series. Given the significant broadcast infrastructure already in place, Hileman Cowley Partners acquired the Property in 2016 with an eye toward repositioning the Property for the next generation of content production and distribution.

"We signed a letter of intent with Comcast literally on the first day of the pandemic lockdown in March 2020, began our renovation in early July, finalized the lease in mid-August, and delivered the building to Comcast on-time in mid-November for them to start their interior buildout," said Jack Hileman, President of Hileman Real Estate Companies. "All parties were on a mission."



"Transforming a legacy television production studio into a cutting-edge digital broadcast and content streaming platform for Comcast Esports Studios is consistent with our investment philosophy - to acquire properties that require both a creative vision and strong financial expertise to execute the business plan," added Chuck Cowley, President of Cowley Real Estate Partners.

"With esports demand continuing to rise over the last several years, we are excited to acquire a high-quality asset in Comcast Esports Studios and grow our portfolio in the category," said Derreck Barker, Regional Head, SW Office Investments at Nuveen. "We have always remained focused on securing strategic, outcome-focused investments for our investors, and with its promising long-term prospects, we believe that this will be a robust addition to our portfolio."


The Burbank media and office market has emerged as one of the most active real estate markets in Los Angeles. "Burbank had a 13-year low vacancy in the third quarter of 2020 at 3.8%, and ended the year at 4.8%," said Stephen Somer, Managing Director at Eastdil Secured.

Eastdil Secured advised Hileman Cowley Partners and LLJ Ventures on the sale.

About Hileman Cowley Partners

Formed in 2015, Hileman Cowley Partners is a joint venture entity with Hileman Real Estate Companies and Cowley Real Estate Partners as its managing members.

About Hileman Real Estate Companies

Founded in 1998, Hileman Real Estate Companies LLC acquires and develops office and media properties throughout Southern California with a focus on both new construction and creative value-add redevelopment of urban infill properties and repositioning opportunities. www.hilemanco.com

About Cowley Real Estate Partners

Cowley Real Estate Partners ("CREP") develops and manages complex commercial, residential and special-use real estate. Since its founding in 2010 the firm has developed nearly 1,000 residential units, approximately 400,000 square feet of commercial space and numerous special purpose facilities. CREP is a fully integrated real estate development company dedicated to innovation with a focus on meeting the needs of its partners and tenants by creating value and producing superior returns. Its unique combination of land use, finance and construction savvy facilitates the creation of exceptional real estate developments. CREP sets itself apart as an innovation leader dedicated to creative and strategic planning, exceptional and award-winning design and a detailed approach to the development process; all of which leads to the delivery of consistently high-level outcomes. www.cowleyrep.com

About LLJ Ventures

LLJ Ventures is the private equity arm of the LM Group, which was founded in 1983 in San Diego, CA (News - Alert). Today, the Group manages more than $7 billion of assets in its three divisions: LM Capital (institutional fixed income), LM Advisors (high net worth families), and LLJ Ventures (Private Equity with a Real Estate Focus). The underpinning investment philosophy in all of LLJ Ventures' investments is providing investors with attractive risk-adjusted returns. Out of that core philosophy stems the fact that LLJ is asset class and market agnostic, making us flexible, nimble, and able to invest directly or partner with operating parties. Our diversified portfolio of different investment categories consists of wealth preservation, value add/opportunistic, yield plays, and predevelopment equity/lending and our principals have vast experience in contributing value to complex deals that involve distressed assets, REO, TIC restructurings, debt and recapitalization of real estate assets in bankruptcy.

About Nuveen

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.2 trillion in assets under management as of 31 Dec 2020 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.


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