Monday saw the announcement of plans by a developer to build a studio building with 16 soundstages, in the heart Los Angeles Arts District.
East End Studios submitted a request to build the facility on the corner of Alameda and 6th streets. This announcement was made A boom was evidentTo keep up with the demand from streaming TV and broadcast TV, we are developing new production facilities here in Los Angeles.
The East End project is expected to take about four years to complete — two years for development approvals and two years for construction.
Paul Audley, the president of FilmLA, said he hoped the project — and others in the planning stages — could move quickly. He stated that L.A. was once a victim to runaway production because of tax incentives in other countries and states. But now, he said the concern is that productions will flee because there isn’t enough production space.
“We’re dealing with international competition,”He stated. “Even domestically, other jurisdictions are way ahead of L.A. in adding new high-tech space. Our concern is we may be left behind.”
Two produce warehouses currently occupies the Arts District site. The neighborhood is home to some of the city’s best restaurants — including Bestia, Bavel and Kato — and the studio project is blocks from the new 6th Street bridge and from Soho House’s downtown location.
“We absolutely think there is future demand,”Shep Wainwright was the managing partner of East End Studios. “The L.A. Arts District is well on its way to becoming the next media hub.”
Atlas Capital Group is also available. Six soundstages are being builtNearby, at 8th and Alameda Streets, is the Los Angeles Times printing facility. This project will eventually be expanded to include 17 soundstages.
Blackhall Studios has plans for another facility in Santa Clarita. Echelon Studios is another project in the pipeline. This includes the redevelopments of Television City and Sunset Glenoaks as well as the Warner Bros. Ranch development.
California created a $150 million incentive program in 2021 for soundstage projects. Wainwright said that incentive did not factor into the decision to build the Arts District project — and it is possible that the funds will be exhausted before the project opens.
East End Studios is already developing four other studio projects — two in Glendale, one in Los Angeles, and one in New York. One of the Glendale projects currently under construction. The Arts District facility, which includes 321,520 square footage of studio space, would be the largest. It covers 720,400 square foot of total development.
“We’re very focused on locations that are squarely at the center of the TMZ,”Wainwright spoke of the Thirty Mile Zone in Hollywood.
Wainwright claimed that the Arts District project will be home to approximately 1,000 jobs. The project is envisioned by the architect as a “campus on top,”Outdoor terraces that allow creative professionals to work.
The project will also include 1,327 parking spaces — a key asset given that neighbors of production facilities often complain when film workers park on residential streets.