> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Post-production facility in casting phase - URL: https://www.smdp.com/post-production-facility-in-casting-phase/ - Published: 2005-07-20T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:29:44.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Mid-City, #archive-import *Media campus home to IMAX, Revolution Studios* MID-CITY — The development of an entertainment facility that’s faced stiff neighborhood resistance has yet to be built, due to a lack of tenants. The construction of two production/post-production studio buildings near Olympic Boulevard and Stewart Avenue is pending until Maguire Properties, Inc., the owner, has secured enough tenants to build the site. Maguire bought the 12-acre property in December from real estate developer Lantana/Hines, a group which spent years negotiating with City Hall in the face of neighborhood resistance before the development was finally approved in September. Maguire spokesperson Peggy Moretti said Maguire does not develop sites based on speculation. The company will be holding off on development until it has an adequate number of tenants to make the project economically feasible. “Maguire would not build without a tenant in hand,” Moretti said. “Typically, 50 percent of the project would have to be pre-leased before we began building. “Questions as to what the economic impact from the site would be are hard to answer, because it is not clear when the economic impact will commence.” In September, City Hall approved development of a 64,105-square-foot production/post-production studio building with a two-level underground parking garage 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 terms of the contract, the company has until 2009 to build the new structures. The two buildings would complete Maguire’s media campus, already home to several entertainment businesses, including IMAX headquarters, Revolution Studios and Lawrence Gordon Productions. Television shows such as “Crime & Punishment” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” have been produced there. Despite that Maguire does not yet have permanent tenants for the new site, the company is optimistic that there is a demand which will materialize soon. She said part of the campus is frequently used on a short-term basis by smaller production companies. “It serves as a sort of hotel or executive suite, used for five days or five months, and runs at about 90 percent occupancy,” Moretti said. Moretti said the media campus is in a good location, since many entertainment executives live on the Westside. Construction costs and leasing prices were not available. Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, said it’s not necessarily surprising that few tenants might be looking to sign on at the media campus. The Westside is generally more expensive than other parts of the county, a factor which might deter tenants. In addition, poor revenues in the movie industry might have caused some to be cautious in expanding operations. “The angst the industry is experiencing due to the poor box office this year and a seemingly slow-down in DVD sales might make people more cautious about signing leases than they might have been six months ago,” Kyser said. However, Kyser noted there continues to be a high demand for content. Thus, state-of-the-art facilities, such as those available at the media campus, will be An earlier version of the development plan was shot down by both the Planning Commission and 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, Maguire will pay $80,000 annually for five years to be used as child care subsidies for low-income families, once the development is operational. The company also will make improvements to Stewart Street Park and the playgrounds at Edison Language Academy, set to begin this fall. 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. Maguire 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 existing facilities. The new buildings would be the third installment in a 330,000-square-foot entertainment production campus. The media campus 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. Bruce Leach, a city planner, said Maguire has not yet submitted a design scheme for the site. Sidewalks have been installed on Olympic Boulevard between the project location and Centinela Avenue. Leach said the rest of the public benefits to be associated with the development would not likely be available until the site is ready to be occupied. “It will likely be at least a year and a half to two years before the buildings are done and they have until the end of 2009 to complete the project,” Leach said. “They literally have years to get this going.” needed in the future. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/072005-01_01.jpg) (Photo: Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/072005-01_02.jpg) of Maguire Properties Above and below: An artist’s renderings of what the new post-production complex on Olympic Boulevard will look like when complete. (Photo: Photo courtesy) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 20, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/072005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)