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Over the past two-and-a-half years, a battle over the future of Los Angeles’ Fairfax Avenue corridor has raged between economic powers.
Hackman Capital Partners, which owns and operates nearly 20 studio properties, is looking to expand and modernize the historic 25-acre site known as Television City, where “American Idol,” “ “All in the Family” and many other programs were aired. Photographed.
Two major nearby businesses oppose the project: AF Gilmore, which owns the Original Farmers Market, and Grove LLC, which owns the popular Grove Shopping Center, developed by billionaire Rick Caruso. The companies partnered with neighborhood groups that argued the project was too large and would further worsen local traffic if no changes were made.
Discussions over the $1 billion project come as the region’s entertainment industry is in deep recession, with studios moving film and television production out of Georgia, New Mexico and other states. are.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council sided with Mr. Hackman and approved the TVC project, which includes an environmental impact report, street maps and new zoning of the site, by a 13-0 vote. City Councilor Katie Yaroslavsky, who represents the area, said this development is critical to the future of the local entertainment industry.
Yaroslavsky said out-of-state production is putting many Angelenos out of work, tearing families apart and hurting restaurants, catering companies and other businesses.
“This project is a real opportunity to help keep Los Angeles the entertainment capital of the world,” she said. “We can’t afford to miss this opportunity. The stakes are too high.”
Zach Sokoloff, senior vice president at Hackman, expressed his gratitude for the council’s vote. He said the decision, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to expand Hollywood production tax credits, is an important part of efforts to rebuild the industry.
The TVC project will add 980,000 square feet of office, soundstage, production and retail space to the Fairfax property on Beverly Boulevard. A 15-story office tower will be built on campus. Once fully completed, the facility will occupy approximately 1.7 million square feet.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katie Yaroslavsky spoke Tuesday in support of a $1 billion TVC project to expand and redevelop the former CBS Television City site at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Yaroslavsky said he worked with Hackman to steadily scale back the project over the past year, removing one tower entirely. But opponents remain unconvinced, saying the project still deviates from its surrounding scale.
Shelley Wagers, co-chair of Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, said the developer offered “minimal concessions” to nine businesses and community groups that challenged the Planning Commission’s approval of the project. said. She insists that the project is focused on developing office space rather than operating a studio.
“Given the flawed process and spotty administrative record, litigation is inevitable and likely to prevail,” Wagers said after the vote.
Hackman Capital acquired the CBS Television City property in 2019 and applied to redevelop the site two years later. In 2022, AF Gilmore and The Grove expressed “deep concerns” about the proposed development, calling it “a large-scale and speculative development that, if approved, would overwhelm, disrupt and permanently change the community.” ” he said.
That same year, Grove and A.F. Gilmore co-founded the Beverly Fairfax Community Alliance, which they used to rally neighbors against Hackman’s project. Over two years, the companies spent nearly $1.2 million on the alliance’s public relations efforts, buying newspaper ads, billboard space and glossy mailers warning that the project would result in unbearable traffic and a 20-year construction period.
Mr. Hackman fired back last spring by filing a complaint with the city Ethics Commission, calling the Beverly-Fairfax Community Alliance “a piece of bullshit funded by private commercial interests.” Hackman’s attorney, Jim Sutton, said in a letter to the commission that the public has a right to know whether the alliance and its affiliates are “merely a ‘front’ for private commercial interests.” said.
Jason Kaune, an attorney with the Beverly Fairfax Community Alliance, said in an email that his client complies with the city’s ethics code and discloses spending quarterly. He said The Globe and AF Gilmore are the alliance’s sole funders.
The alliance has provided logistical support to Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, a coalition of community groups including the Beverly Wilshire Homes Association. And save Beverly Fairfax.
An architect’s rendering of the proposed renovation of the Television City site in the city’s Fairfax neighborhood.
(Foster + Partners and Television City)
Wagers, co-chair of the neighborhood group, pushed back on Hackman’s criticism, saying she and other neighbors act out of concern for the Beverly Fairfax community and that it’s “not on anyone’s paycheck.” said. She accused developers of using concerns about film production to push through projects that are “way out of scale and out of character” for the neighborhood.
Stan Savage Jr., president and CEO of AF Gilmore, told the Planning Commission last year that traffic congestion between the TVC project and the Original Farmers Market, a major tourist destination, He expressed his concern that access would become more difficult.
“What the developer is proposing will have serious and irreversible consequences and harm small and medium-sized businesses in the market,” he told the committee.
Other business leaders are also rallying around the TVC project. Jacqueline Canter, co-owner of Canter’s Deli, told the council Tuesday that she attends every City Hall hearing on the project to show her support.
“That’s why this project is so important to the community,” she said. “TVCs create new jobs, which means more customers, more lunch orders and more business.”
The TVC project also attracted support from construction unions and the Federation of Entertainment Unions, which represents 160,000 Hollywood workers, including actors, directors, and various behind-the-scenes workers. In a letter to the city, the coalition warned that production labor is so scarce that a significant number of workers are losing their homes and considering moving elsewhere.
“They have not chosen to leave Los Angeles,” the coalition wrote. “But you will have to do it to protect yourself and your family.”
Under TVC’s proposal, Hackman would save and restore the 1952 Television City Studios building, designed by the architectural firm Pereira & Lachman, a move that is being coordinated by historic preservation organization L.A. Conservancy. Supported by Banshee.
Attorneys for the cities of Grove and A.F. Gilmore did not immediately respond to questions about whether they will sue the cities over the City Council vote. Lawyers for both companies accused the city of failing to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.
Yaroslavsky said the final project was a compromise, noting that Hackman agreed to spend $6.4 million on community initiatives, including renovations to nearby Pan Pacific Park. She also expressed hope that the various factions would avoid a lengthy legal battle.
Yaroslavsky said settlement talks have already begun between the developer and the project’s critics.
“I think they’ll get it resolved soon. That’s my feeling and my hope,” she said. “I project optimism.”
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