Culver Studios Plans $25M Expansion

CULVER CITY, CA-The Culver Studios plans to build a 115,000-sf, $25-million expansion at the storied movie lot to meet what the new owners describe as demand for more production-related office space at the studio. The new development will take shape directly across the street from the existing studios on a site at Washington Boulevard and Inge Street, according to Ron Lynch, president of the Culver Studios. Lynch says that permanent office space for entertainment executives and production companies that is connected to a quality production facility is in very short supply in Los Angeles. This is particularly true on the Westside, where so many of those executives live and want to work, Lynch adds. The new project will include a three-story 115,000-sf office building and retail complex that will feature a pedestrian bridge over Washington Boulevard, directly connecting the new facility with the studios. Office tenants for the complex are expected to be producers, directors, writers and other industry executives who want permanent office space on the Westside directly connected to a studio lot and its production facilities. No dates for groundbreaking or estimates for completion are confirmed yet, but construction is expected to be complete in approximately two years. Developers of the project will include Pacifica Ventures, managers of the Culver Studios, and Rush Properties of San Diego. Hal Katersky, chairman of Culver Studios, is project manager for the new development. GKK Corp. has been named as the architect and construction manager.The development team and the city are both hoping that the new plaza complex will help further revitalize the already burgeoning downtown Culver City by complementing the existing adjacent downtown businesses such as Trader Joe’s and the Pacific Theatres. Among the retailers being pursued is an upscale bookstore, the first for the city.Los Angeles-based Pacifica Ventures purchased the Culver Studios, home to such classic movies as Gone With The Wind, Citizen Kane, Goodfellas, ET and the original King Kong, for $125 million this year in a deal reported on GlobeSt.com. Pacifica Ventures is also a partner in developing Studio City NY, a one-million-sf, $500-million production facility in midtown Manhattan.