Developer plans 16 soundstages in Los Angeles arts district

California Construction News staff writer

Weeks after buying a block of warehouses in Downtown Los Angeles for $240 million, East End Capital unveiled plans to spend another $800 million building film studios on the site.⁠

The New York-based investment firm’s East End Studios LA filed plans for a 700,000-square-foot, Grimshaw Arch-designed studio complex known as ADLA Campus on the 15-acre parcel in the city’s Arts District.

The development includes four office buildings on a 15-acre site at the corner of 6th and Alameda streets and is expected to take about four years to complete — two years for development approvals and two years for construction.

The Arts District site is currently occupied by two produce warehouses. The neighborhood is home to some of the city’s best restaurants — including Bestia, Bavel and Kato — and the studio project is blocks from the new 6th Street bridge and from Soho House’s downtown location.

In 2021, California passed a $150 million incentive program for projects shot on newly built soundstages. Wainwright said that incentive did not factor into the decision to build the Arts District project — and it is possible that the funds will be exhausted before the project opens.

East End Studios is already developing four other studio projects — two in Glendale, one in Los Angeles, and one in New York. One of the Glendale projects is now under construction. The Arts District facility would be by far the largest, with 720,400 sq. ft. of total development, including 321,520 sq. ft. of studio space.