03.Playa/5.5 inches/LK1st/mark2nd

No. 3

DreamWorks at Playa Vista

After months of delays, feuds and heated negotiations, Playa Vista hit a major milestone this fall, when DreamWorks SKG and the developers of the huge commercial and residential project near Marina del Rey signed a definitive agreement for DreamWorks’ $250 million studio and headquarters.

The agreement paves the way for construction of the first major studio to be built in Los Angeles in a generation. It is the cornerstone of a multibillion-dollar project that supporters claim will generate thousands of jobs and attract other entertainment companies to one of the area’s last parcels of land.

DreamWorks still has to finalize financing. But barring further delays or complications, the studio is expected to move about 1,000 employees to Playa Vista by mid-2001.

Under the agreement, DreamWorks will pay $20 million for 47 acres of land and will have the rights to build up to 1.5 million square feet of space, including at least eight sound stages.

It’s been almost four years since plans for the 1,087-acre master-planned community were first announced. But it was soon mired in financing problems and negotiations between the studio and the developers eventually bogged down.

Playa Vista is not exactly out of the woods yet. Developer Robert Maguire, who lost the controlling ownership but retains a small stake, has threatened to take legal action against the project’s developers and the city of L.A. And some environmental groups continue to oppose the project.

Meanwhile, grading and other preparation work continues for the residential component of the project, which will comprise more than 3,200 residences in the first phase.

Elizabeth Hayes