Hackman unveils massive plan to redevelop CBS Television City

$1.3B plan would add office space and sound stages

Hackman Capital Partners CEO Michael Hackman and Television City (Hackman Capital Partners and Flickr/vagueonthehow)
Hackman Capital Partners CEO Michael Hackman and Television City (Hackman Capital Partners and Flickr/vagueonthehow)

Hackman Capital Partners has big plans for CBS Television City in the Fairfax District, as in $1.25 billion big.

Hackman said it will spend that much to redevelop and renovate the landmarked 25-acre production campus it acquired three years ago for $750 million. Hackman was expected to submit its redevelopment application with the city on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The plan would add over 1 million square feet of sound stages — doubling the number from eight to 15 — along with offices and related facilities, according to the report.

Hackman plans to create 700,000 square feet of office space to support production on the lot through new construction and conversion of existing space. It also wants to add 700,000 square feet of new office space to rent out to entertainment companies, the Times noted.

Surface parking lots and two sound stages built in the 1990s would be razed to make way for the new construction. Parking garages with room for 5,300 vehicles would be added.

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Hackman plans to preserve the four original sound stages designed by architect William Pereira and built in 1952. The L.A. City Council made Television City a Historic-Cultural Landmark in mid-2018 after rumors surfaced that CBS was putting the property on the market. Hackman acquired the property a few months later.

While the landmark status doesn’t preclude redevelopment, it necessitates a more thorough and lengthy city review process.

Hackman has been in buying mode lately. In Culver City in January, the firm paid $160 million for Sony Pictures Entertainment’s three-building animation campus. In New York in October, Hackman and Square Mile Capital closed on their purchase of Silvercup Studios in New York City in a deal reportedly worth $500 million.

Hackman is among the most bullish studio and production real estate investors, with a growing entertainment portfolio currently worth $4 billion.

In L.A., other players have also invested in the sound stages and related office space, with growing demand from streaming services. Last summer, Blackstone Group bought a 49 percent stake in Hudson Pacific Properties’ $1.65 billion Hollywood office and production portfolio. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch