LOS ANGELES — Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC), a publicly traded REIT, has acquired an approximate four-acre parcel near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood for $46 million. Kilroy purchased the site from The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
Encompassing a full city block, the Academy site is one of the few remaining mixed-use development sites that exist in Hollywood. Shimoda Design Group has been tapped to design the project under the direction of executive architect House Robertson. The parcel was once intended for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The site is located two blocks from the Red Line Metro stop, the subway line that runs between downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood.
Kilroy plans to seek approval and obtain entitlements to develop a creative media mixed-use campus that will include approximately 475,000 square feet of low- and mid-rise office space, apartments, stores and restaurants with a total investment between $250 million and $300 million.
“Hollywood will always be the entertainment capital of the world, yet for it to continue to attract and retain production, digital media and technology companies, we need to create environments that the modern work force wants and needs,” says David Simon, executive vice president of Kilroy Realty Corp. “The supply of efficient and memorable office space in Hollywood is arguably in short supply and our projects are designed to meet the demand.”
The site currently has several vacant industrial type buildings and a landscaped open space created by AMPAS in the summer of 2012 for public movie screenings.
The location is expected to generate revenue from the existing buildings through short-term leases and excess parking. The improved grounds will be used for special events, as well as film and commercial shoots. Entitlements for the media campus are anticipated to take between 18 to 24 months.
Concurrently, Kilroy Realty is also undertaking a multi-million dollar renovation of Sunset Media Center, a 22-story, 322,000-square-foot office complex located at 6255 Sunset Blvd. that will be completed in the first quarter. Kilroy has approximately 1.9 million square feet of new office development under construction with a total estimated investment of approximately $1.1 billion.
Kilroy Realty Corp.’s stock price closed at $52.80 per share on Jan. 31, up from $50.75 per share at this time last year.
— John Nelson