A $1 billion expansion of historic Television City is sparking debate over its impact on Los Angeles’ Fairfax Avenue corridor and the surrounding Hollywood community. The project, which will add 980,000 square feet of offices, production facilities, and retail space, has been backed by the Entertainment Union Coalition but opposed by several businesses and neighborhood groups.
The Grove, a neighboring shopping mall, is suing to overturn the city’s approval of the project, claiming it violates California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations. The lawsuit alleges that the project’s environmental impact review misled the public and failed to provide a clear understanding of its true scope and potential impacts.
Opponents argue that the expansion will worsen traffic in the area and fail to address the real issues plaguing Los Angeles’ production industry. Some, including Save Beverly Fairfax, claim that Hackman Capital Partners, the developer behind the project, is not committed to building more production space.
In response, Hackman senior VP Zach Sokoloff stated that the lawsuit is an “unfortunate but predictable abuse of CEQA” and that the company remains committed to keeping Hollywood in Hollywood. The expansion has been years in the making, with CBS selling the site to Hackman in 2018 for $750 million.
The project will include increasing the number of soundstages from eight to 15 and adding offices and retail space. Hackman claims that the expansion will help stem the tide of productions relocating to other states and make Los Angeles its own investments to retain its share of the entertainment industry.
However, Caruso’s lawsuit suggests that the project is a “speculative real estate venture” rather than an effort to address soundstage shortages. The city council has modified the plan to require a minimum of 150,000 square feet of combined Sound Stage, Production Support, and Production Office uses be maintained on the property.
As the debate continues, industry insiders are watching closely to see how Caruso’s mayoral campaign will affect development projects in Los Angeles.
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/television-city-rick-caruso-lawsuit-1236140327