Hudson Pacific Properties and Blackstone to Develop Los Angeles Area Studio Facility

Rhea-AI Summary

Hudson Pacific Properties and Blackstone announced the development of Sunset Glenoaks Studios in Sun Valley, California. The facility will be the first large-scale, purpose-built studio in the Los Angeles area in over 20 years, representing an investment of $170-190 million. Covering 240,000 square feet, it will feature seven sound stages and support spaces, targeting completion in Q3 2023. The project emphasizes sustainability, with plans for LEED certification and carbon neutrality. This expansion aligns with rising demand for studio space among content creators in the region.

Positive

• Investment of $170-190 million indicates strong financial backing.
• First large-scale studio in LA in over 20 years, meeting high demand.
• Sustainability features including LEED certification and carbon neutrality.

Negative

• None.

Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (“Hudson Pacific”) (NYSE: HPP) and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today unveiled plans to develop a fully entitled, state-of-the-art, purpose-built studio facility in Sun Valley, California.

Sunset Glenoaks Studios will be the first large-scale, purpose-built studio in the Los Angeles area in over 20 years (Photo: Business Wire)

The facility will be known as Sunset Glenoaks Studios, making it part of the Sunset Studios brand family, which includes three existing studios in Hollywood—Sunset Gower Studios, Sunset Bronson Studios and Sunset Las Palmas Studios—also jointly owned by Hudson Pacific and funds managed by Blackstone. Sunset Glenoaks Studios, which will represent a total investment of approximately $170-190 million, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

Sunset Glenoaks will comprise approximately 240,000 square feet on over 10 acres, making it the first large-scale, purpose-built studio development in Los Angeles in decades. Seven film- and TV-ready sound stages will range from 15,000 to 21,000 square feet, all with 35- or 40-foot clear heights. Productions will benefit from nearly 120,000 square feet of highly efficient, stage-adjacent support space, as well as offices with hillside views, a large mill, and parking with approximately 450 parking stalls and generous truck loading.

Sunset Glenoaks’ design provides the technology infrastructure to future-proof this modern studio, including optionality to shoot on a virtual stage; a state-of-the-art power grid designed for LED lighting; and high-speed fiber connectivity with scalable production-level internet.

Construction and operations will prioritize sustainability, health and wellness. In addition to providing on-lot EV charging stations, bike parking, showers, lockers and wellness programming, Sunset Glenoaks will target LEED certification, and operations will be 100% carbon neutral with advanced waste, water and energy use reduction programs.

“Sunset Glenoaks is a perfect example of our long-term strategy with Blackstone to buy and transform existing facilities and to build new, state-of-the-art studios within Los Angeles and other high-priority production markets we’ve identified for expansion,” said Victor Coleman, Chairman and CEO of Hudson Pacific. “We are leveraging our development and studio operations expertise to further expand Sunset Studios’ facilities here in Los Angeles, where demand from leading content creators for top-notch, fully integrated sound stages and support space continues to significantly outpace supply.”

Jacob Werner, Blackstone Real Estate Senior Managing Director, said, “We couldn’t be more excited to bring the first large-scale studio development in the last 20 years to Los Angeles. This investment reflects both our high conviction in content creation, a space that is benefitting from strong, secular tailwinds, and our long-term commitment to the Los Angeles market. This development is another important example of our strong partnership with Hudson Pacific as we expand our studio platform joint venture to uncover and capitalize on unique opportunities in the space.”

Located at 11070 W. Peoria Street, Sunset Glenoaks is a 20-minute drive from Hollywood and 10 minutes from Burbank, where Disney, NBC Universal and Warner Brothers are headquartered. Other entertainment companies in the market include Nickelodeon Animation, Legendary Entertainment, Sega Games and more recently, Netflix, as well as numerous production services companies. The Burbank-adjacent location is also highly accessible to the many television and film crew professionals living in the greater San Fernando Valley.

Upon the completion of Sunset Glenoaks, the joint venture will collectively own and operate under its Sunset Studios platform 42 stages or 3.5 million square feet, including development rights, of Los Angeles area studio facilities. The partnership is also actively pursuing further expansion opportunities in Los Angeles, New York, London and Vancouver.

About Hudson Pacific Properties

Hudson Pacific is a real estate investment trust with a portfolio of office and studio properties totaling nearly 20 million square feet, including land for development. Focused on premier West Coast epicenters of innovation, media and technology, its anchor tenants include Fortune 500 and leading growth companies such as Google, Netflix, Riot Games, Square, Uber and more. Hudson Pacific is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol HPP and listed as a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. For more information visit HudsonPacificProperties.com.

About Blackstone Real Estate

Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $208 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is one of the largest property owners in the world, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, multifamily and single family housing, office, hospitality and retail. Our opportunistic funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone’s Core+ strategy invests in substantially stabilized real estate globally through regional open-ended funds focused on high-quality assets and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT), a non-listed REIT that invests in U.S. income-generating assets. Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond Hudson Pacific’s control, which may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect Hudson Pacific’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. Furthermore, Hudson Pacific disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause Hudson Pacific’s future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Hudson Pacific’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by Hudson Pacific from time to time with the SEC.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210729005200/en/

FAQ

What is Sunset Glenoaks Studios?

Sunset Glenoaks Studios is a new film and TV studio being developed in Sun Valley, California, by Hudson Pacific Properties and Blackstone.

How much is being invested in Sunset Glenoaks Studios?

The development of Sunset Glenoaks Studios involves an estimated investment of $170-190 million.

When will Sunset Glenoaks Studios be completed?

Sunset Glenoaks Studios is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

What features will Sunset Glenoaks Studios have?

The studio will include approximately 240,000 square feet, seven sound stages, and advanced technology infrastructure.

What is the significance of this studio development for Los Angeles?

It is the first large-scale, purpose-built studio in Los Angeles in over two decades, responding to the growing demand from content creators.