$340M pre-foreclosure filed at Hackman’s Kaufman Astoria, follows $1.1B Hackman LA default

Deutsche Bank filed a $340 million pre-foreclosure action on Friday in New York State Supreme Court in Queens alleging a maturity default on the historic Kaufman Astoria Studios campus in Queens. The filing was based on an alleged maturity default on the debt that was due to be repaid on November 19, 2025. Deutsche Bank originated the $340 million loan in November 2021 for the Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management (now Affinius Capital) purchase of the parcels. In city records, the total transaction value was $410 million, but published articles said the seller had asked for $600 million.

The foreclosure marks a significant turn for the 500,000-square-foot production facility, which serves as a cornerstone of New York’s film and television industry. The legal proceedings involve several interconnected parcels, including the primary studio lot at 34-12 36th Street and auxiliary properties located on 35th Avenue and 34th Avenue in Astoria.

This pre-foreclosure filing comes two months after Bloomberg reported that following a default on a $1.1 billion loan secured by Radford Studio Center, Hackman Capital Partners would turn the lot to lender Goldman Sachs. As of June 2025, the Radford studio’s revenue reportedly covered only 21% of its debt service. Hackman had acquired the property (formerly the CBS Studio Center) in 2021 for $1.85 billion and had planned a $1 billion modernization project that is now stalled due to the foreclosure.

At Kaufman Astoria, the original financing was issued on November 8, 2021, to coincide with the acquisition of the studio by a partnership led by Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital (now Affinius Capital). At the time, the facility was valued as a premier production destination, recently securing a 90,000-square-foot lease from Apple TV+.

According to the complaint, the borrowers failed to repay the outstanding principal and accrued interest by the maturity date of November 9, 2025. Deutsche Bank issued a formal notice of default on December 10, 2025, demanding immediate payment and triggering default interest rates. As of March 26, 2026, the plaintiff alleges the total debt owed has reached $359,106,189.45.

The suit names Michael D. Hackman and several Hackman-affiliated entities—including Hackman Capital Partners, LLC and HCP Studio Fund, LP—as defendants and guarantors. Under the terms of a payment guaranty, the bank is seeking at least $18.5 million from HCP Studio Fund, LP, in addition to seeking a deficiency judgment against the primary borrowers.

The plaintiff is represented by Janice Mac Avoy of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. The case is being heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens.

The property

The specialty building in Astoria has 280,000 square feet of built space and 300,440 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 580,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has two buildings with frontage of 200 feet and is 580 feet deep with a total lot size of 116,000 square feet. The zoning is M1-5 which allows for up to 5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The property is in the Individual Landmark. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $51.2 million. The most recent loan totaled $340 million and was provided by Deutsche Bank on November 8, 2021.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received $600 in OATH penalties in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Astoria, The bulk, or 36 percent of the 40.2 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space. In sales, Astoria has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $853.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Queens. For development, Astoria has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Queens. It had 2.3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the two commercial properties representing 280,000 square feet of the 280,000 square feet. The identified owner is Hackman Capital Partners. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Hackman Capital Partners owned at least 19 commercial properties with eight residential units in New York City with 745,189 square feet and a city-determined market value of $166.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $340 million in debt, borrowed from Deutsche Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 68 percent of the 745,189 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with office properties next occupying 20 percent of the space. The bulk, or 97 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Bronx next at 3 percent of the space.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of Kaufman astoria studios in the past 24 months.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page.