Hackman Capital Revises Vision for LA’s Television City

Hackman Capital Partners has scaled back plans for its $1.25 billion redevelopment of Television City in L.A.’s Fairfax District.

The Culver City-based property investor was expected to file revised plans to update the 25-acre landmark production complex once known as CBS Television City at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The $1.25 billion plan had called for more than 1 million square feet of new soundstages — doubling the number to 15 from eight — plus 700,000 square feet of offices and production facilities.

With the revised plan, Hackman Capital has whittled down the project to add a combined 980,000 square feet to Television City after hiring a new design architect, Foster + Partners, and getting feedback from city officials, stakeholders and residents.

The firm is also responding to a downturn in the office market after a pandemic shift to remote work. Revised plans now call for eliminating a 15-story, 150,000-square foot office tower on the west side of the lot, as well as lowering the heights of some buildings.

Hackman Capital bought the CBS studio, founded in 1952 next to the Original Farmers Market, in 2019 for $750 million. CBS is now its major tenant.

Three years ago, the firm led by Michael Hackman filed plans to redevelop and renovate the studio lot at Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, home for such shows as “All in the Family,” “Sonny and Cher” and “American Idol.”

The new proposal calls for combining old and new space to create 700,000 square feet of offices to support production, plus another 550,000 square feet of offices for rent to entertainment and media firms, company officials told the Times.

The plan still calls for raising the number of Television City stages to at least 15, from eight, along with production support facilities. To make room for the planned additions, surface parking lots would be turned into parking garages for 4,930 cars.

Two stages built in the 1990s on the east side of the lot would be bulldozed as part of a planned reconfiguration of the site.

The four original stages built by CBS in 1952 would be preserved along with other historical design elements created by Los Angeles architect William Pereira, who also designed the futuristic Theme Building at LAX and the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco.

At the same time, plans for Television City call for a new commissary and more than 4 acres for production base camps. Streets would be improved for passersby, with wider sidewalks.

On Fairfax Avenue, a fenced parking lot would be replaced by ground-floor shops and restaurants of 20,000 square feet or less for the public, with offices above accessible from inside the lot.

If approved, the revised project is expected to be completed by 2028.

Hackman Capital is trying to make Television City feel more friendly to the neighborhood, while retaining the security and exclusivity of a closed studio campus for celebrities and others who make movies and TV shows, according to the Times.

Landlords can also charge premium rents for offices on movie lots because they are close to the action for independent production companies.

To mitigate concerns over traffic, Hackman Capital said the new plan will cut the number of estimated daily car trips to Television City by 5,000 to 8,700. A “mobility hub” would be moved to Fairfax and 1st Street to serve public transit, shuttle buses, rideshares and dropoffs.

— Dana Bartholomew