LA Approves $1 Billion Television City Expansion Project During Time of Hollywood Contraction

There’s a glimmer of hope amid Hollywood’s continued contraction. The Los Angeles City Council approved a $1 billion Television City project on Tuesday, according to the LA Times.

Roughly 980,000 square feet of offices, soundstages, production facilities and retail space are expected to be added from the renovation project, which aims to expand and modernize the storied production center. Additionally, a 15-story office tower will be erected in the interior of Television City. By the project’s completion, the property, which is on Fairfax at Beverly Boulevard, would encompass nearly 1.7 million square feet.

Television City is 25-acre site that’s owned by Hackman Capital Partners. Beloved shows like “American Idol,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Price Is Right” and “Dancing With the Stars” have all been filmed there. Repeatedly, Hackman has faced opposition to this expansion led by A.F. Gilmore Co., which owns the Original Farmers Market, and the Grove LLC, which owns the Grove shopping center, citing that the development will make traffic worse. But now that the Los Angeles City Council approved the project with a vote of 13-0, Hackman can move forward.

The approved project will include an environmental impact report, a tract map and new zoning for the location. A councilmember who represents the area, Katy Yaroslavsky, emphasized how beneficial this development will be to the future of the local entertainment industry.

“This project represents an opportunity, a real opportunity, to keep Los Angeles as the entertainment capital of the world,” Yaroslavsky told the Times. “We cannot let this opportunity pass us by. The stakes are simply too high.”

This project is welcome news as Hollywood continues to suffer as more productions move out of California. As other filming locations, like those in Georgia, Louisiana and New Mexico, gain more popularity for their tax credits, they take work out of the state. It’s not just the cast and crew who are impacted. Productions have a positive impact on restaurants and other local businesses.

To counteract this trend and help reverse Hollywood contraction, Gov. Gavin Newsom has been pushing to expand California’s film and TV tax credits program to $750 million, a plan that is still on track.

The post LA Approves $1 Billion Television City Expansion Project During Time of Hollywood Contraction appeared first on TheWrap.