LA North Studios get fourth soundstage in Santa Clarita

Moves to cash in on shortage of space in Hollywood

Anthony Syracuse and John Prabhu (founders, LA NORTH STUDIOS) and rendering of IAC Commerce Center (iacvalencia.com)
Anthony Syracuse and John Prabhu (founders, LA NORTH STUDIOS) and rendering of IAC Commerce Center (iacvalencia.com)

LA North Studios, a Santa Clarita-based entertainment company, has cut a deal to open a fourth soundstage for TV and film production in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The three-year-old firm, which operates three studio locations in Santa Clarita–a municipality about 35 miles northwest of Downtown Los Angeles– has signed a deal for 113,400 square feet at the IAC Commerce Center, according to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

The Santa Clarita Valley, within the “30 mile zone” for standard Hollywood production wages, has become an entertainment industry hub of more than 40 soundstages and 10 movie ranches, according to the Santa Clarita Film Office.

LA North Studios, founded in 2019 by John Prabhu and Anthony Syracuse, has nearly 280,000 square feet of sound stages in Santa Clarita. Its clients include some of the industry’s biggest players, according to its website, including Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Showtime, HBOMax, CBS and Netflix.

Its latest soundstage is still under construction at IAC Commerce Center, a 1 million-square-foot industrial park at 29051 Avenue Valley View.

The latest lease will cap the center at full occupancy. Other tenants include Covercraft, Lief Labs and Amazon, according to its website.

The Newmark team of John DeGrinis, Patrick DuRoss and Jeff Abraham represented landlord IAC Properties and the tenant. The studio will be ready soon for occupancy.

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“Construction should be completed by the end of this month,” Abraham said. “The rain delayed it a bit.”

As streaming services multiply, Los Angeles has found itself running out of production studios. As a result, Wall Street dollars have begun to flood into the production space. In 2020, Blackstone Group paid $1.7 billion for a 49 percent stake in Hudson Pacific’s studio business.

In August, Blackstone and Hudson Pacific Properties — one of L.A.’s largest studio landlords — proposed building a 240,000-square-foot production studio complex in Sun Valley.

Through their joint venture, the duo also are working on adding 500,000 square feet of production space to the Sunset Gower complex in Hollywood.

In August, Bardas Investment Group and Bain Capital outlined plans for a $420-million production studio and office complex at 5601 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. The project would include five soundstages and two office buildings totaling 350,000 square feet, and replace a Sears store built in 1928.

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[SFVBJ] – Dana Bartholomew