The entertainment industry in L.A. has endured a tough couple of years, with the strikes, layoffs and the production slowdown leading to headlines like “Hollywood Is Ditching Hollywood.”
Despite the gloom, studio facilities are pushing ahead with expansion plans. Construction is underway on a $500 million build at Warner Bros. Ranch, and Comcast is pouring $1 billion into Universal City.
Television City is poised to expand as well: The L.A. City Council is expected to give final approval to a $1 billion makeover on Jan. 7. The project has been in the works for years. Hackman Capital Partners bought the Fairfax District lot from CBS in 2018, and submitted its application to the city in 2021 — when production was a lot healthier.
But the developer says it believes the downturn is temporary.
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“We are confident these cycles will work themselves out and Los Angeles will continue to be the global capital of media,” says Zach Sokoloff, who is overseeing the project and Hackman’s upgrade of the Radford lot in Studio City. “When we talk to our customers, they want to film in L.A.”
Television City is set to grow to at least 15 stages, including eight new state-of-the-art spaces. The plan also calls for production offices, retail and a 15-story office tower.
Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, an opposition group, argues that Hackman could transform the project into an office park, or even sell it off at a profit to another developer.
“I don’t think the plan looks quite as attractive now,” says Shelley Wagers, co-chair of the group. She fears neighbors are being “duped” and will bear the brunt of “overdevelopment that has nothing to do with sustaining and growing the entertainment industry.”
Sokoloff says those concerns are unfounded, and that Hackman is committed to the studio expansion.
“We still believe very deeply in Hollywood,” he says