LA planners advance Television City rejuvenation

By JOSE HERRERA | City News Service

A proposal to modernize and expand the Television City complex in the Fairfax District cleared a major hurdle on Thursday, as the city’s Planning Commission unanimously approved the $1.2 billion plan.

The project will next be heard by the council’s Planning and Land Use Management committee before going to the full Los Angeles City Council.

The Television City Project would add facilities on a lot at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, as well as landscaping improvements and infrastructure enhancements to nearby streets.

Located at 7800 Beverly Blvd., Television City opened in 1952 as the second CBS television studio complex in Southern California. In 2019, CBS sold Television City to real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million, though CBS continues to operate at the site as a tenant. The studio has been the production site of several films including 1996’s “That Thing You Do!” starting Tom Hanks and Liv Tyler, and hit shows such as “All in the Family,” “Sonny and Cher” and “American Idol.”

“We are grateful to the Planning Commission for their vote of approval, which will help to improve the Beverly/Fairfax neighborhood while keeping and creating thousands of good entertainment industry and ancillary jobs in Los Angeles,” Hackman Founder and CEO Michael Hackman said in a statement. “We are especially grateful to Councilmember (Katy) Yaroslavsky for her direction and support, helping to guide refinements to the project in response to feedback raised by residents and stakeholders.”

Additionally, the commission approved a specific plan for the project, allowing studio production at the site, as well as its environmental impact report.

Plans for the project include 1,724,000 square feet of sound stage, production support, production offices, general office and retail space, as well as the retention of 264,377 square feet. About 479,303 square feet of space would be demolished to make way for new buildings, according to City Planning documents.

The number of stages at Television City would increase from eight to 15, and two stages built in the 1990s would be demolished, but four original stages built by CBS in 1952 would be preserved along with other historical design elements.

In April, Hackman Capital Partners reduced the scope of its project by lowering building heights and eliminating a proposed 15-story west tower. The developer committed to a mobility program in a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the area. The company also agreed to a public benefits agreement by providing $6.4 million in funding for new bike lanes, repairing sidewalks, supporting local arts programs and improving the Pan Pacific Park, among other initiatives.

Yaroslavsky, who represents the Fifth District, which includes the Fairfax District, has worked with developers to resolve some constituent concerns. In that effort, developers agreed to further reductions and conditions proposed by the councilwoman to address the following:

— reducing general office by 50,000 square feet;

— reducing the height of buildings facing Fairfax Avenue from 88 feet to 73 feet;

— prioritizing entertainment-related office uses; and

— ensuring a transparent transportation demand management program.

Developers reduced the project’s initial plans by 200,000 square feet, according to a letter from Yaroslavsky’s office.

“When I first ran for office, I made clear my commitment to preserving the Television City campus, recognizing its critical importance to our regional and local economy,” according to the letter submitted to planning commissioners on Sept. 11. “However, I also expressed concerns that the project, as originally proposed, was out of scale with the surrounding community and would require additional modifications to earn my support.

“With these additional project modifications, in addition to the extensive construction and operational conditions of approval and TVC’s robust community benefits package included in the draft development agreement, my office formally supports the TVC project.”

The project is not without opposition, with some saying the project is too big and would negatively impact the neighborhood with pollution, noise and traffic.

Commissioners denied nine appeals submitted by Rick Caruso and The Grove, Mayer Beverly Park Limited Partnership, Save Beverly Fairfax, Beverly Wilshire Homes Association, Fix the City, Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, Miracle Mile Residents Association, Park La Brea Impacted Residents Group, and A.F. Gilmore Company and Original Farmers Market L.A.

Planning commissioners heard about six hours of public testimony before advancing the proposal.

Dale Kendall, president of the Save Beverly Fairfax, told City News Service the issue revolves around the “quality of life.”

“We’re not even close to a Metro station. They’re going to have to shuttle people up and down Fairfax, thousands of cars would be coming to our area and our streets cannot handle that,” Kendall told CNS. “We’re worried about ambulance service, fire services — those things are all issues.”

He estimated about 40 or 50 members of his group came to protest the project. Kendall, a long-time Fairfax resident, also expressed frustration because many people had to wait to get inside City Hall because the planning meeting was at “full capacity.”

“We support a studio. We want it to be in scale with our residential neighborhood. We’re not a freeway. It’s way to much construction,” he said.

Randy West, a radio and television personality with more than 40 years working on and off at Television City for various project such as  “Supermarket Sweep,” “Trivial Pursuit,” “Hollywood Showdown” and “The Price is Right,” supported the project.

“Television City began in the first decade of TV, most people didn’t even have a television set when ground was broken. Yet it was built with such a vision for the future that it was already counting on building for color television long before that was reality,” West said. “It’s always been a place where visionaries have looked through the future.”

He emphasized that the site holds cultural significance and it needs to be respected and honored — and said the best way to do that is to keep its use as a production facility.

Catherine Clinch, a writer and producer, told CNS that she wished the project had not been made smaller because it needs to be “bigger in order to carry all of the potential production of people who are moving into new technologies in the 21st century.”

Clinch, a resident of the Beverly Fairfax area since 1979, also noted the project would create more union jobs, and serve to bring economic prosperity to local businesses.

“This is something that’s going to revitalize our neighborhood and make it better,” Clinch said.