While the twin Hollywood strikes slowed down production and led some to question the longevity of sound stages and fear excessive supply, at least one architecture firm is confident they will remain in high demand.
“In my life, I’ve never seen a point where we stop making content,” Tima Bell, founding partner and studio principal at Relativity Architects, an Arts District-based architecture firm which specializes in industrial design, said.
“The more screens we have, the more sites that we have, the more streamers that we have, the more content needs to be created and, therefore, the more stages that need to (be built to) support them.”
Contrary to what skeptics may think, Bell “wholeheartedly” believes the industry is in need of more sound stages. “There’s plenty of productions to go around (stages),” he said. “And plenty that need more (stages).”
The only question on Bell’s mind is how much new stage development will happen in Los Angeles versus elsewhere.
As areas with greater tax incentives – like Georgia and Canada – continue to become new entertainment hotspots, Bell is confident that Los Angeles will remain the epicenter of it all.
“There’s an infrastructure in Los Angeles that can’t be beat anywhere in the world,” Bell said. “And that industry is incredibly supportive of content production.”
Staying busy
The firm has a number of projects in the works and has a strong portfolio of local studios just completed as well.
Most recently, Relativity wrapped up 7th Street Studios, developed by DGMT, a 95,000-square-foot development which includes four stages in downtown’s Arts District. The design was a conversion of an existing cold storage facility and has already found a seven-year tenant to fill the space.
Another project of Relativity’s in the Arts District is Alameda Crossing, a media campus featuring 10 sound stages, two mills, multiple site base camps and an eight-story building with above-grade parking. It’s expected to be completed in 2025.
East End Studios Glendale, which is currently under construction, will be East End Studio’s first completed development of the company’s growing portfolio, with an estimated completion date of next year.
The 100,000-square-foot class A facility has production amenities including a separate full mill, accessible wardrobe and makeup areas with access to the stages, an event roof deck, and a full compendium of office and editing support.
East End Studios Mission LA Campus will be the second to open next year for the company, this time in the Arts District again. The 200,000-square-foot campus will have five new sound stages adjacent to a parking lot and four stories of support and office space, designed to fit optimal scales of production.
Relativity is also working to create a media campus for Ace + Mission Studios, which involved the conversion of two on-site warehouses into sound stages, currently being leased by a major production company. The facility, which formerly housed Mission Beverage Co., sits on a 21-acre site downtown. It is being developed in phases.
