Trammell Crow, Clarion Sign 114K SF Film Production Lease at L.A. Complex
LA North Studios is the second major lease in a week at the Center at Needham Ranch
By Greg Cornfield November 19, 2020 3:40 pm
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Among other things, 2020 is a year for studio deals in Southern California, and November is a month for the Center at Needham Ranch.
Trammell Crow Company (TCC) and Clarion Partners announced that a soundstage and studio operating company, LA North Studios, signed a five-year lease for 113,640 square feet at the center in Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County.
The company, which provides soundstages, studios and other production services for clients, including Amazon (AMZN) Studios, Netflix (NFLX) and Disney, will convert the space into a satellite soundstage hub when it opens in 2021. Filming has ramped up at major studios following the coronavirus shutdowns, and the pent-up demand to film in the lost time has produced increased rent rates.
LA North Studios is the second big new lease at the Center at Needham Ranch in less than a week. A few days ago, the owners announced that beverage manufacturer DrinkPAK signed a 172,324-square-foot lease at the complex; Amazon in May also signed on to occupy almost 100,000 square feet there. The property is approximately one mile north of Interstate 5 and adjacent to Highway 14.
LA North Studios will take over “Building 5,” which is the third production facility in Santa Clarita, and the company now has leased more than 277,000 square feet of production space in Santa Clarita Valley.
“For entertainment uses, the Santa Clarita Valley continues to experience significant growth in the amount of local production facilities that operate here,” said TCC’s John Balestra in a statement. “This area is a competitive, and often more attractive, alternative to L.A. … You cannot deny the long-term viability of industries like media and entertainment.”
The lease for studio space follows several major sales and leases this year as streaming services and content creators expand throughout Southern California. Netflix recently leased 171,000 square feet in Burbank for a new animation studio. BLT Enterprises landed a 200,000-square-foot studio complex in Hollywood for $64 million in August, just days after Boston Properties (BXP) acquired a 50 percent stake in the Beach Cities Media Campus. And, of course, the blockbuster deal of the year came when Blackstone (BX) took a 49 percent stake in Hudson Pacific Properties’ studio and office portfolio in a $1.7 billion deal. Hudson is currently expanding one of those Hollywood studios to more than 1.1 million square feet.
There are now two remaining buildings available for lease in Phase 1 of the Center at Needham Ranch, which includes approximately 900,000 square feet of Class A industrial space. Phase 1 is part of a master-planned, 135-acre industrial development adjacent to the San Fernando Valley. TCC and Clarion Partners are set to break ground on Phase 2 before the end of the year.
CBRE (CBRE)’s Craig Peters and Doug Sonderegger represented TCC and Clarion in the transaction.
