At an age when many would be thinking of hanging up their blueprints in favor of a beach umbrella, Jim Thomas is pursuing a vision. His passion: pouring $800 million into an ambitious studio and office complex atop the Metro Red Line subway station near Universal Studios.
The development, which will serve as home to KNBC-TV (Channel 4) and other NBC Universal West Coast broadcast operations after their departure from Burbank, portends to offer a snapshot of the future.
“Dealing successfully with traffic in Los Angeles means building transit-oriented projects,” said Thomas, chief executive of Thomas Properties Group. “What this represents is smart growth, complementary to the community and on the cutting edge.”
At 72, Thomas is being honored as a visionary the leading private sector risk taker in transit-oriented development.
Born in Pembroke, N.C., Thomas spent 20 years as a lawyer before moving to Southern California and becoming a full-time developer in 1983.
His interest in transit, he said, grew simply out of living in Los Angeles. “We’ve seen the congestion increase, and as a citizen I am concerned.”
The Universal City project, Thomas contends, will help solve the problem by providing 13 acres of work space within sight of rapid transit. Eventually, plans call for it to be connected to a residential housing development for which he is an adviser on the studio’s back lot.
“It will be environmentally friendly with shuttle buses running from the residential area to the subway. It will have all the ingredients of smart growth: transit, environmental construction and job-housing balance.”
Thomas said he intends to pump an extra $35 million into the project to help mitigate the 1,900 additional daily car trips that he expects it will generate. Ultimately, the project is “representative of the long-term future of Los Angeles,” he said.
Though it has inspired opposition from some nearby residents concerned about the traffic increase, the project also has garnered support. Among its admirers is Jack Kyser, chief economist with the L.A. County Development Corp.
“I think it will help. What we have to do is more development around mass-transit hubs,” said Kyser, who added of Thomas: “He’s an interesting man who does very good work. I admire that he’s continuing to give us the benefit of his expertise.”
Thomas, for his part, rejects the notion that the Universal City project which has yet to be approved by the city will be his legacy, even though it may not reach fruition until he’s almost 80.
“I don’t feel like I’m near the end of my career,” Thomas said. “I’ve been blessed with good health, energy and interesting things to do. You’re only as old as you admit, and I don’t admit to being 70.”
VISIONARY
Jim Thomas
Title: Chief Executive
Company: Thomas Properties Group Inc., downtown Los Angeles
Major Project: Metro Studio@Lankershim, 300,000 square feet of studio and office space atop the Universal City subway stop. Future home of KNBC-TV (Channel 4) and other NBC Universal West Coast broadcast operations
Quote: “You’re only as old as you admit, and I don’t admit to being 70.”
