Television City has updated its application to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning to refine its studio modernization plan (“TVC Project”). These refinements are a result of input from and collaboration with residents and stakeholders in the Beverly/Fairfax community and direction from LA City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky.
Television City’s extensive community outreach program includes nearly five years of studio tours, open houses, focus group sessions, distribution of over 100,000 mailers, hundreds of door-to-door conversations, and face-to-face meetings with nearly 3,000 neighbors.
The TVC Project is now smaller and improved, eliminating 150,000 square feet of general office floor area and completely removing the 15-story west tower. Project heights have been lowered throughout the site, particularly along Project perimeters, and setbacks and stepbacks have been expanded near adjacent properties and along public streets. Additional shade trees, landscaping, and public realm enhancements will further improve public safety and the walkability of the area. Television City has increased its commitment to getting employees and visitors out of their cars by making its transportation and mobility program one of the most robust in the City. These refinements—when taken together—will eliminate approximately 5,000 daily car trips from local streets.
The TVC Project will preserve this community landmark as a studio by providing modernized production facilities to meet the needs of today’s film and entertainment industry, ensuring the studio remains a premiere production campus for decades to come.
As Los Angeles’ first all-electric studio, the TVC Project includes a commitment to achieving LEED Gold standards, using renewable energy, reducing embodied carbon, and reducing water use, making TVC a model of sustainable studio operations. A world-class design and architecture team, comprised of Foster + Partners, Adamson Associates Inc, and RIOS, has established a Project that delivers a modern studio ecosystem, focused on environmental sustainability and long-term resiliency.
“Television City is committed to being a good neighbor for the long-term, which starts with listening. We are grateful to all Project stakeholders for their participation in our outreach process and the Project refinements arising from this collaboration and input have made the TVC Project even better,” said Michael Hackman, Founder and CEO of Hackman Capital Partners. “Our investment will preserve this iconic studio and transform it into Los Angeles’ first all-electric production facility, create good-paying jobs close to where individuals and families live, and improve the quality of life and safety of residents and businesses in the Beverly/Fairfax community.”
Operating since 1952, Television City is an iconic studio and the first purpose-built television production facility in the world. It is owned and operated by an affiliate of Hackman Capital Partners. Many of America’s favorite television shows have been filmed at Television City: All in the Family, The Merv Griffin Show, Sonny and Cher and more recently Dancing with The Stars, American Idol, and Real Time with Bill Maher.
“Television City heard us. I initially opposed the Project but the TVC team took the time to listen to the community’s feedback and make real and meaningful changes,” said Angie White, a Park La Brea Residents Association Board Member. “Today’s TVC Project reflects what our community wants and highlights the receptiveness of Television City to work collaboratively with all stakeholders. This is a win-win for the entertainment industry and the Beverly/Fairfax neighborhood. Now it’s the City’s turn to listen to the community, and I hope they move quickly to approve this Project.”
The TVC Project has earned support from a diverse coalition of residents, local property owners, businesses, non-profits, historic preservationists, community groups, on-site employees, organized labor, and business organizations. These include, among others, the Mid-City West Neighborhood Council, Park La Brea Residents Association, Fairfax Business Association, Melrose Business Improvement District, West 3rd Street Business Association, Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles, LA Conservancy, LA Parks Foundation, Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building Trades, FilmLA, Central City Association, Los Angeles County Business Federation, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Streetlights, ManifestWorks, Women In Media, and Good City Mentors. Further, TVC has earned the support of nearly 4,000 individuals, including nearly 3,000 residents of Council District 5 and more than 1,500 letters of support.
“Hackman Capital Partners has consistently listened to feedback and has worked collaboratively with us to preserve the history of Television City. The TVC Project strikes a good balance between protecting its Historic Cultural Monument and implementing a much-needed modernization—all while restoring views of its signature red awning to Beverly Boulevard,” said Adrian Scott Fine, President and CEO of the LA Conservancy.
“From an air quality and climate perspective, the proposed TVC Project is development done right. The Project includes best-in-class sustainability commitments and practices. TVC is a model project for other real estate developers,” said Dr. Joseph K Lyou, President and CEO, Coalition for Clean Air. “TVC will be the City of LA’s first all-electric production studio and includes a state-of-the-art mobility hub and a robust transit demand management program for employees and visitors alike. TVC shows how thoughtful planning and responsiveness to community feedback can encourage people to walk, bike, take public transit, and get out of their single occupancy vehicles, all while preventing and reducing climate pollutant emissions and protecting the environment,”
“We are completely reimagining filmmaking and content production by creating an interconnected green campus with people at its center. Working with a low-carbon structural grid allows us to craft a flexible and collaborative environment, which can adapt to changing needs well into the future,” said Armstrong Yakubu, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners.
“The TVC Project will not only attract the world’s pre-eminent entertainment and media companies, but will reinforce Los Angeles’ status as the content capital of the world – today and well into the future. The studio sits on 25 acres in the heart of the City and will provide access to green space, work environments that promote health and wellness, and a creative media ecosystem that in unmatched in Los Angeles,” said Jeff Pion, Vice Chairman, CBRE, who is also the leasing broker for the property.
For more information about the TVC Project, visit https://tvcstudios.com
READ MORE ABOUT THE TVC PROJECT IN THE LA TIMES
