Investing for the future is critical for any business and that’s exactly what Hackman Capital Partners is planning for Television City, the studio home of a multitude of TV shows past and present, including current residents “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.” The company, which bought the iconic studio lot from CBS in 2018 (finalized in 2019) for $750 million, announced today plans to build additional studio space and renovate areas all around the 25-acre property at a cost of $1.25 billion in the hopes of feeding “the enormous appetite of streaming services and visual effects whizzes,” reports the Los Angeles Times. Part of the plans includes increasing the number of soundstages to 15 from the currently available eight.
In announcing the company’s plans, owner Michael Hackman noted that one call for advancement is the ability to utilize indoor space via “sophisticated visual effects” that help reduce the need for productions to shoot on locations outside of a studio.
“Instead of having to take that show on the road to locations around the world to get the backgrounds, now with LED video walls they can do this all on a soundstage,” Hackman told the publication. “Rapidly advancing technology is creating even greater demand for soundstages.”
Dubbed “TVC2050,” plans for the Television City redevelopment project was submitted today to the City of Los Angeles for its approval. Additional steps will need to be followed, including public hearings, before construction can commence. The property takes up the space between Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, which is in close proximity to the iconic Farmers Market and the Grove shopping center — two major tourist attractions.
One method proposed to help expand TVC is taking parking spaces for employee and visitor vehicles from a lot-based design to a garage structure that could provide up to 5,300 parking spaces. Additionally, two stages built in the 90s on the east side of the lot will be razed while four original stages built by CBS in 1952 would be preserved along with other historical design elements, Hackman Capital noted in its announcement.
Hackman Capital Partners
In the illustrative concept shown above, Hackman Capital highlights the space that currently separates the soundstages of “Y&R” (Stage 43), “B&B” (Stage 31), and “The Price is Right” (Stage 33) following future design changes.
Should Hackman receive approval for redevelopment, which can take up to 18 months, construction could be completed in as little as two years, meaning the project could be ready by 2025 or sooner.
In addition to “B&B, “Y&R” and “Price is Right,” TVC is also the current studio home for CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” along with ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol,” and HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
For more on the entire process, read the full story by the Los Angeles Times or visit TVC2050.com for more image rendering of the future Television City studio complex.