Television City To Get Major $1.25 Billion Expansion, Overhaul By Owner Hackman Capital
Real estate developer Hackman Capital is planning to spend $1.25 billion to overhaul the nearly 70-year-old West Hollywood landmark CBS Television City including adding sound stages to supply the seemingly boundless demand.
The world’s first purpose-built television studio was built in 1952 and has expanded in a patchwork over the years. Hackman acquired the iconic 25-acre property for $750 million in 2019. CBS’ The Late Late Show With James Corden, The Price Is Right and The Young and the Restless are recorded at Television City as well as Dancing With the Stars, American Idol and Real Time With Bill Maher.
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The project — which Hackman calls TVC 2050 — will add up to 1.13 million square feet of new space and is designed “to address the needs of a modern studio and promote innovation and sustainability in production and operations,” the firm said Friday. It calls for nearly doubling the number of sound stages to 15 from 8 and adding new production support facilities, offices for rent and garage structures for up to 5,300 vehicles. Two stages built in the 1990s on the east side of the lot would be razed but the four original stages built by CBS would be preserved along with other historical design elements.
“Television City is one of the great Hollywood studio lots. We are committed to ensuring it remains a robust job creator and world-class studio for decades to come,” said Michael Hackman, founder and CEO. “Los Angeles lacks the modern sound stages and production facilities to meet market demand, putting our region at risk of seeing the entertainment industry leave the state if we fail to invest in its future.”
Demand for soundstages has grown on both coasts and in production hubs from Atlanta to London fueled by an explosion of content by streaming services and the desire for increasingly sophisticated visual effects.
“To remain globally competitive, Los Angeles needs more state-of-the-art sound stages and production space. Now is the time for a fully realized Television City, as the entertainment industry and the City continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Bill Allen, CEO of Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
A study the agency conducted determined the planned investment will result in $2.1 billion in total economic output and sustain an estimated annual average of 4,220 direct and indirect jobs throughout construction. Once completed, TVC 2050 will generate $2.4 billion annually in new economic output and support an estimated 18,760 direct and indirect jobs.
LA-based Hackman specializes in buying and renovating studios, vintage commercial, industrial and other properties and is one of the largest independent owner-operators of studio locations. Its eight studios comprise more than 70 soundstages and it has 35 soundstages in development. Hackman affiliate, the MBS group is a collection of companies that provide services to global content creators in film, TV and digital media including equipment, studio management, logistics and production planning.
In January, Hackman and Square Mile Capital Management acquired the Sony Pictures Animation Campus in Culver City days and Hackman assumed operation of the historic Raleigh Studios in Hollywood and Raleigh’s Saticoy Studios in Van Nuys. Last fall, the partners bought the historic Silvercup Studios in New York City.
The partnership’s other assets include the MBS Media Campus in Manhattan Beach, Second Line Stages in New Orleans and Eastbrook Studios London.
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