Former Technicolor HQ in Hollywood Slated For Entertainment Tenant Revamp
Television Center, the former Techinicolor headquarters in Hollywood, is getting a new name and a big makeover, owner BLT Enterprises announced Thursday.
Now called The Hollywood Exchange, the 200K SF campus will be receiving interior, exterior and landscape renovations aimed at attracting “techtainment tenants,” BLT Enterprises President and founder Bernard Huberman said in a statement.
BLT will undertake a comprehensive renovation of the first two floors of the main office suite building, upgrading its lobby and common areas. The company will also continue ongoing conversions of “outdated spaces into modern creative office," work that had been started by previous ownership. Outdoor spaces will receive new landscaping, lighting and murals with the goal of creating amenity spaces that feature in so many prime office spaces vying for media and entertainment occupants.
“All of our renovations are strategically aligned with maintaining the tradition of the property, while ensuring we are delivering the quality workspace and state-of-the art amenities today’s TV, film and digital production tenants, as well as innovative tech and design professionals, have come to expect,” Huberman said in a release announcing the repositioning.
BLT did not disclose a price tag for the undertaking.
The property is made up of 11 buildings across 6.4 acres on Romaine Avenue just south of Santa Monica Boulevard, in what is called the Hollywood Media District. It also includes production facilities for rent and almost 800 parking spaces. Current tenants cover a mix of industries and include a computer graphics school, a Gold’s Gym and tenants associated with media production, L.A. Biz reported.
A mile east of this property along Santa Monica Boulevard, a partnership between Bain Capital and BARDAS Investment Group is planning a $450M studio project that would transform a site that formerly housed a Sears. In addition to soundstages, the project would also include two five-story buildings with 350K SF of office space.
Like the rest of the city and major cities across the country, Hollywood’s office market was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and is in the process of seeing what a rebound will look like and how long it will take.
The vacancy rate for the Hollywood office market at the end of Q1 2021 has increased to about 24% from the same quarter the previous year, when the overall vacancy rate was 16%, according to a report from the Hollywood Partnership, a business improvement district working in greater Hollywood. The overall asking rents weren't hit as hard, the Partnership noted. Q1 2020 overall rents in Hollywood were $4.41 per SF; they rose to $4.75 per SF in Q1 2021.
BLT bought the property in August 2020, paying $64M, according to the commercial real estate data site Reonomy. The company left the door open to potential future development of the site, noting that “The Hollywood Exchange presents untapped potential for build-to-suit development and redevelopment exceeding 200K SF.”
Including this property, BLT owns roughly 300K SF of office, production and studio space in Hollywood and West LA.
Brad McCoy, Dylan Mahood and Conor Halloran of Lee & Associates West LA are the exclusive listing agents and consultants for The Hollywood Exchange.
