After four months of anticipation, Hackman Capital Partners has made it official: construction is now underway for the Culver Steps development.

The project, located at Downtown Culver City's long-vacant Parcel B, will consist of a four-story building featuring approximately 75,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail space, and a 35,000-square-foot public plaza.  The new plaza area will be integrated with a grand staircase, cascading down the side of the building to create landscaped terraces and seating areas.

EYRC Architects is designing the project, which will feature an exterior of charcoal-colored brick and steel to complement neighboring historic buildings such as the Culver Studios Mansion and the Culver Hotel.

Construction is expected to take place over 18 months, with an opening anticipated by 2019.

Approval for the Culver Steps development was granted by the Culver City council nearly six years ago, but a combination of foul market conditions and the dissolution of the redevelopment agencies statewide resulted in a multi-year delay for the project.  Hackman acquired the property in 2016.

The groundbreaking comes in the wake of Hackman signing Amazon Studios and other Amazon subsidiaries to a 280,000-square-foot lease at the adjacent Culver Studios campus.