Virtual reality company signs 27K sf lease at Kilroy’s Columbia Square campus in Hollywood

A still from the new Ghostbusters film, with effects by Legend 3D (credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment via Legend 3D)
A still from the new Ghostbusters film, with effects by Legend 3D (credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment via Legend 3D)

New Hollywood is staking its claim in Hollywood proper.

First, there was Netflix’s 323,00-square-foot lease at Hudson Pacific Properties’ Icon building. Now there’s a new case in point: the firm responsible for 3D effects in the new “Ghostbusters” movie recently signed a lease at Kilroy Realty Corporation’s Columbia Square campus in Hollywood.  

The visual effects and virtual reality company will join Viacom, Fender, and NeueHouse at the project, bringing the campus to 85 percent occupancy, said Carl Muhlstein of JLL, who represented Kilroy along with Hayley Blockley and Nicole Mihalka.

Legend 3D — whose client list includes Lionsgate, Tidal, Warner Brothers and Annapurna Pictures — will move 100 employees into a 27,000-square-foot space in December, almost tripling the space it takes in Hollywood. It signed on for the long term: 11 years.

The company, which also has an office in Toronto, will be saying goodbye to its two current offices in Hollywood totaling 10,000 square feet at 755 Seward Avenue and 1017 Cole Avenue.

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“It’s a company growing organically in Hollywood that has hired and will continue to hire local talent — engineers and innovators” said Jacob Bobek of Avison Young, who represented Legend with Aaron Wilder. “In L.A. virtual and augmented companies have a big buzz right now. A lot of them are at really early stages but [Legend 3D] is really a leader in the business. A lot of the other companies are small and taking venture capital, while these guys are making a big, long commitment.”

Legend is working on a “full creative buildout,” Wilder said, of its new office within the five-story, 365,000-square foot building at 1500 North El Centro Avenue. It will include a state-of-the-art screening room.

The 4.7-acre Columbia Square campus has enviable amenities, between Sugarfish, Rubies + Diamonds Coffee — and NeueHouse, the invite-only co-working club that’s giving Soho House a run for its money.

Kilroy’s massive development has a 200-unit residential component, with rents ranging from $3,500 a month for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment to $22,500 for a penthouse, The Real Deal previously reported. The property, known as the Hollywood Proper Residences, will be operated by Proper Hospitality, lead by Viceroy Hotel alumnus Brad Korzen, and designed by Kelly Wearstler Interior Design.