Hackman’s New Plan for Television City Has Less Office

Hackman Capital Partners (HCP) is reducing the size of its large-scale redevelopment of the historic Television City studios in Los Angeles by nixing an office building from the plans.

The Culver City-based firm announced Thursday that it’s cutting 150,000 square feet of office by removing a 15-story tower from the plans, and also lowering building heights across the project. The plans still call for the addition of nine new soundstages — while demolishing two, and preserving the four original stages built in 1952 — as well as a different 15-story office building, and new public shops and restaurants.

The studio landlord and developer hopes to get approval from the city for the studio expansion by the fourth quarter of this year.

HCP acquired the cultural landmark at the corner of West Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue for about $750 million in 2018. The studio and production campus houses about 750,000 square feet of stage, office, broadcasting and support space that has been the home to generational programs from “The Price is Right” and “All in the Family” to “American Idol” and “Real Time With Bill Maher.”

The 25-acre property at 7800-7860 West Beverly Boulevard is in L.A.’s Fairfax District, notably near the Original Farmers Market and The Grove shopping center.

HCP first filed plans in 2021 for what was estimated to be a $1.25 billion project. The company said the new changes were due to input from stakeholders in the community following a five-year outreach campaign, and direction from City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky. 

“Television City is committed to being a good neighbor for the long term, which starts with listening,” Michael Hackman, HCP founder and CEO, said in a statement. “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.”

Foster + Partners, Adamson Associates and RIOS are designing the updated project.

“The [redevelopment project] strikes a good balance between protecting its Historic Cultural Monument status and implementing a much-needed modernization — all while restoring views of its signature red awning to Beverly Boulevard,” added Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

The L.A. Times reported the revised plans first.

L.A. has seen a surge in proposed studio developments amid the competitive streaming wars in Hollywood, but more recently the industry was shaken by historic labor strikes in 2023 that derailed filming activity, and it has taken longer than expected to get back up and running.

“We’re still emerging from a once-in-a-generation dual strike,” Hackman told the Times. “And the production stoppage cost Angelenos approximately $6.5 billion or more in lost wages and economic activity, which makes it clear how important this industry is to our city, and especially the people who work in entertainment every day.”

He added that tenants tell them they want to stay in Los Angeles. 

“We have the best crews in the world here, but we don’t have enough modern soundstages in premier locations,” Hackman said. “We also have to push the state on tax incentives so that we don’t lose business outside of the city.”

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.