$450 Million Film Studio Planned For Santa Monica Boulevard

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A multi-million film studio is coming to Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard. Developers from Bain Capital Real Estate and Bardas Investment Group submitted their plans to the city to build a $450 million site at 5601 Santa Monica Boulevard, which would be five acres in size and include multiple stories.

The complex, called Echelon Studios would feature four 19,000 square foot sound stages, a 15,000 square foot "flex stage" and a 90,000 square foot "creative village" including multiple bungalows. The site would occupy what used to be a Sears store and parking lot, which closed in 2008.

"We believe the intense growth from the digitalization of content presents a compelling opportunity to create a uniquely integrated platform that partners with tenants to develop an unmatched experience," said Joe Marconi, a managing director at Bain Capital Real Estate.

Bain Capital and Bardas Investment Group formed a joint venture in 2019 to acquire, develop and operate office and other production space in the content and media industry, with a focus on the Los Angeles market.

"The increase in demand for new content and limited existing studio and production space is generating competition in the market," said David Simon, Bardas founder and managing principal.

Echelon would include a total of 350,000 square feet of creative space inside of two mid-rise office buildings, with up to five content creators able to simultaneously rent space in the complex.

Demand for studio space is growing amid the explosion in streaming content, especially now that COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted across the state, allowing for the widespread resumption of filming activity.

In March, the owners of CBS Television City in the Fairfax District announced a $1.25 billion expansion and improvement of the historic production facility -- calling it a "comprehensive framework to allow for a state-of-the- art modernization."

Hackman Capital Partners, which operates the 25-acre facility at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in partnership with The MBS Group, said the planned expansion will include increasing the number of sound stages to a minimum of 15, up from eight; new production office space and support facilities adjacent to stages; new production base camps, and above- and below- grade parking; additional studio office space; and preservation of existing facilities.

City News Service contributed to this report.