L.A. City Council approves $1B expansion, modernization of Television City
By JOSE HERRERA, City News Service
The Los Angeles City Council approved on Tuesday, Jan. 7, a $1 billion expansion of a historic studio located in the Fairfax District — a move intended to boost film and television production at a time that the entertainment industry is still recovering from several challenges in recent years.
In a 13-0 vote, council members approved planning and environmental documents for the modernization of Television City. As part of their decision, elected officials denied nine appeals filed by Rick Caruso and The Grove, the A.F. Gilmore Company and Original Farmers Market L.A., residents and other community groups.
Council members Bob Blumenfield and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.
In her remarks, Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents the Fifth District that encompasses Fairfax, recognized the project does not address every concern from some of her constituents, but described it as a compromise.
“One that balances the preservation and modernization of an iconic production campus with the need to protect the character of Beverly Fairfax,” Yaroslavsky said. “This campus must be brought into the 21st century.”
“Beverly Fairfax needs this shot in the arm to thrive once more, and after years of debate, it’s time to move forward,” she added.
Located at 7800 Beverly Blvd., Television City opened in 1952 as the second CBS television studio complex in Southern California.
In 2019, L.A.-based Hackman Capital Partners, a real estate investment company, bought the property from CBS for $750 million — though CBS remained on the property as a tenant.
The development company filed an application with the L.A. City Planning Department to add more production stages and office space on a lot at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.
Television City was the production site of numerous shows, such as 1996’s “That Thing You Do!” starring Tom Hanks and Liv Tyler, and hit shows such as “All in the Family,” “Sonny and Cher” and “American Idol.”
With the council’s approval, Hackman Capital Partner expects to complete the project in 2028, before the Olympics.
“We believe in Los Angeles. Our customers want to film in Los Angeles. And we are proud to make this historic investment into the Los Angeles entertainment industry,” Michael Hackman, founder and CEO of Hackman Capital Partners, said in a statement.
“We are proud to create good-paying jobs close to where individuals and families live and believe this project will improve the quality of life and safety of residents and businesses in the Beverly/Fairfax community,” he added.
The plans allow studio production at the 25-acre site and development of 1.686 million square feet for sound stages, office and retail spaces.
Additionally, it permits up to 1,421,623 square feet of new development, the retention of 264,377 square feet of existing uses and the demolition of up to 479,303 square feet of space for new buildings, according to city planning documents.
The number of stages at Television City will increase from eight to 15. Developers planned for two stages built in the 1990s to be demolished, but four original stages built by CBS in 1952 will be preserved, along with other historical design elements.
Over time, the developer’s plans changed as a result of concerns raised by residents and by Yaroslavsky. A proposed 15-story west tower was eliminated and building heights were also lowered.
The developer later reduced its planned office space by 50,000 square feet and lowered the height of buildings facing Fairfax Avenue from 88 feet to 73 feet.
As part of the agreement, Hackman Capital Partners committed to a mobility program and a $6.4 million public benefits agreement for new bike lanes, sidewalk improvements, local art and enhancements to Pan Pacific Park, among other things.
Other groups opposed to the project included the Mayer Beverly Park Limited Partnership, Save Beverly Fairfax, Beverly Wilshire Homes Association, Fix the City, Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, Miracle Mile Residents Association and Park La Brea Impacted Residents Group. They said the expansion would lead to more pollution, noise and traffic.
On behalf of Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, Nicole Waldman argued they were not against development of the site, but the process should be thorough and comply with environmental laws.
“If you look at the record, the theme of this project has been evasive public review the entire time, including flawed documents requested, flawed responses by the city, and it really needs to be fixed,” Waldman said.
Yaroslavsky emphasized the importance of the project to the film and television industry, which she said shaped L.A. into the economic and cultural powerhouse it is today.
“We all know that, but we also know it’s hurting,” she added.
Increasingly, production is leaving the city and into the hands of Nevada, New Mexico, Georgia and outside the U.S. as well, such as Canada and the United Kingdom. The councilmember attributed the loss of production in part to competitive financial incentives and their massive studios.
“If we want to remain competitive, we have to invest in modernizing our studios, and that starts with ensuring this campus is equipped to meet the needs of the industry in the 21st century,” Yaroslavsky said.
Philip Sokoloski, vice president of communications for FilmLA, told CNS they supported plans for Television City, which is among several new infrastructure projects in the L.A. region they are watching with “great interest.”
FilmLA is the film office for the city and county of Los Angeles, as well as other local jurisdictions.
“Access to modern stage facilities will make the region more attractive to film and studio producers, and ultimately more space is necessary to help L.A. keep pace with or beat its competitors, who are very ambitious in the U.S and beyond,” Sokoloski told CNS.
He noted that places like the U.K could not compare to L.A.’s footprint and infrastructure advantage a few years ago. But now competitors are approaching L.A.’s levels and could potentially “eclipse us in total stage availability.”
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to expand the state’s tax credits for film and television production from $330 million to $750 million.
Sokoloski agreed that a combination of tax incentives and new production studios could result in more jobs and projects in California but cautioned that the industry would not see the same level of activity it had before the coronavirus pandemic.
“The fact is that the streaming bubble has burst and the huge surge in production Los Angeles has benefited from at that time is unlikely to come back in 2025, although our hope is we will see more production than in the prior year,” Sokoloski told CNS.