Previously rejected proposal for post-production facility makes it off cutting room floor
By GENEVA WHITMARSH Daily Press Staff Writer
COUNCIL CHAMBERS — After years of planning, negotiations and rejections, an international real estate developer will be allowed to build a post-production facility on Santa Monica’s eastside.
The City Council on Tuesday approved the Lantana-Hines development on Olympic Boulevard, which includes two three-story entertainment buildings.
A 64,105-square-foot production/post-production studio building with a two-level underground parking garage is expected to be built at 3030 Olympic Blvd. A separate three-story, 130,000-square-foot building with a one-level parking garage is set to be constructed at 3131 Exposition Blvd. Under the contract, the company has five years to build the new structures.
The two buildings will complete the Lantana Media Campus, which already is home to many entertainment businesses, including the IMAX headquarters, Revolution Studios, Lawrence Gordon Productions and such shows as “Crime & Punishment” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
An earlier version of the development plan was shot down by both the Planning Commission and the City Council in 2002. Officials said the project would create too much traffic in the neighborhood. In response, developers reduced the size of the buildings by as much as 15 percent and agreed to provide benefits to the public.
Under the approved development plan, Lantana-Hines Development, LLC, will pay $80,000 annually for five years to be used as child care subsidies for low-income families. The company also will make improvements to Stewart Street Park and the playgrounds at Edison Language Academy. Also included in the agreement is an apprenticeship with a commitment to hiring local residents, and replacing parking for any residential spaces lost on Exposition Boulevard or adjacent blocks. The company also will make a $100,000 contribution to art or cultural programs at Virginia Avenue Park, according to city documents.
The Olympic Boulevard location is currently used as a surface parking lot containing 233 spaces for the nearby Lantana Center building. The new buildings would be the third installment in a three-building, 330,000-square-foot entertainment production campus. The Lantana Center was converted from manufacturing to entertainment use in 1989.
The Exposition Boulevard site was previously used for a Verizon public utilities maintenance yard, an industrial truck terminal, truck maintenance and a film equipment storage lot. It is currently used as an industrial maintenance building for the nearby IMAX film production and distributing building.
The Lantana Media Campus this year swept all three award categories to become a winner of the “2004 Sustainable Quality Award” issued by the Chamber of Commerce’s environmental affairs committee. For the past eight years, the award has recognized businesses that exhibit sustainable operating principles. Award categories are environmental, economic development and social responsibility.
Some of the sustainable practices at the Lantana Center are diversions, programs and projects that aim to reduce storm water runoff. Since Hines’ purchase of Lantana in 1998, the firm has supported a myriad of local social programs. Recent Hines community outreach projects include corporate sponsorship of local elementary school Edison Language Academy, a local job fair in conjunction with St. Anne’s Catholic Church and support of various local art programs and groups.
The Hines portfolio of projects completed and underway includes 737 properties representing more than 244 million square feet of office, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, sports facilities and residential properties, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 62 U.S. cities and 12 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued in excess of $14 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 16, 2004. Read the original PDF.