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The Ever-Changing Entertainment LandscapeMay 26, 2001Entertainment firms have always faced space-use challenges. The latest factors impacting their real estate needs include the furious pace of mergers and acquisitions, new sports partnerships and the sudden challenge of dot-coms were among the topics at the "Entertainment Real Estate Sector" ULI LA breakfast program, November 8, 2000 at Los Angeles Center Studios. Executive Managing Director Insignia/ESG R. Todd Doney, entertainment real estate broker about town, hosted a youthful panel: Universal Studios Senior Vice President Global Real Estate George H. Garfield, Jr.; 20th Century Fox Studios Vice President of Real Estate Markley Lumpkins; and Sony Pictures Entertainment Global Real Estate Vice President Lance Wedegaertner.Each executive related the internal dynamics of his or her firm. Universal's Garfield, for example, said a lesson learned from the entertainment giant's 1999 acquisition of PolyGram is the importance of having better information "on the ground" so real estate decisions don't have to be remade. Now Universal's parent company Seagram is undergoing a massive merger with Vivendi, which keeps the company spending "a lot of time learning where the assets are." But perhaps of more immediate interest to Angelenos was Garfield's announcement that the pending Universal Studios Master Plan for expansion in North Hollywood has been withdrawn from the public hearing process for revisions. "The plan as originally drafted needed a darn good relationship with the neighborhood and politicians, and now needs clarity on the future of the company," Garfield said, adding, "There are still opportunities to create great synergy on 416 acres of wonderful location." As for Sony's local base in Culver City, Wedegaertner confirmed that the studio will not expand for at least two years. "We have 46 acres and are entitled to build over 1 million square feet. But plans are on hold pending the company's improved profitability." Only Fox's Lumpkins indicated her firm was presently expanding facilities. . .not here, but in Vero Beach, Florida, where the Los Angeles Dodgers are pursuing spring training accommodations. "Sports is our biggest interest and the product which we weave complementarily into all our real estate," she said. She also confirmed that Los Angeles filming has slumped somewhat due to productions moving out of California to places such as Canada. "But at the same time, they come to our studios in Australia, where Episode II of Star Wars is filming." The panelists agreed that they are looking for flexible space and see more educated users, with youthful influences, focused more on IT than finishes. Jack Skelley is public relations manager for Roddan Paolucci Roddan in Palos Verdes Estates and serves on the ULI LA Executive Committee. | |
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