While the impacts of Hollywood’s cutbacks in production spending are being felt across California, there are two major deals moving forward that would indicate we might be set for a comeback in LA based production.
East End Studios in Glendale broke ground on July 16 on its Mission campus near downtown, while Worthe Real Estate Group has reclaimed the former NBC Studios campus in Burbank.
East End’s 5-acre film soundstage and production studio dubbed Mission campus brings new facilities to downtown to ensure that more filming and production can take place here.
“Right now, our legacy industry needs support, and this campus is the type of initiative that will help save jobs and help spur production in our area,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement after attending the groundbreaking. “From the hundreds and hundreds of jobs created at the campus to the many writers, set and costume designers, electricians, florists and so many surrounding local businesses – we are creating jobs and energizing our signature economy.”
The $230 million project is expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and upon completion next year will create 750 permanent jobs.
The campus will have five soundstages totaling 108,000 square feet, and office, production and support space totaling 105,000 square feet. It will also have a mill comprising 38,000 square feet and 376 parking spaces.
Further east, Burbank Studios was sold to Worthe Real Estate Group in Santa Monica for $375 million.
Worthe’s partners in acquiring Burbank Studios from Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. were QuadReal Property Group and Stockbridge Capital Group.
The former NBC Studios was originally sold to Worthe and Stockbridge in 2007. Worthe and Stockbridge then sold the property to Warner Bros. last year in a transaction that included Warner Bros. leasing the adjacent Second Century towers, which were developed by Worthe and Stockbridge and designed by Frank Gehry.
Although dozens of new soundstages have been built or planned in the L.A. region in recent years, there is room for more in Burbank, Jeff Worthe, president of the real estate company bearing his name, told the Los Angeles Times.
“There have been a fair amount of stages built in the market, but maybe not all in the right location and maybe not all to the right standards that operators would like,” Worthe said to the Times.
His company plans to add five soundstages to the Burbank Studios ranging from 18,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet as part of a roughly $100-million first phase of improvements, he told the paper.
Worthe Real Estate Group owns about 8 million square feet of office, studio and residential space, most of it in Burbank and leased to such companies as Comcast Corp., ABC, The Walt Disney Co. and DC Entertainment.