WarnerMedia Unit Expansions Are Latest Sign of Rising Demand in Los Angeles Area
By Lou Hirsh CoStar News
October 27, 2021 | 4:11 P.M.
HBO and HBO Max leased more than 160,000 square feet at CIM Group's The Lot @ Formosa in West Hollywood. (CoStar)
Production company HBO and its HBO Max streaming service have landed a new Hollywood home.
The WarnerMedia-owned services signed a long-term lease for more than 161,000 square feet of soundstage and office space at CIM Group's historic The Lot @ Formosa, at 1041 N. Formosa Ave. in West Hollywood, California.
With the lease, HBO joins rivals Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Disney in staking out an expanded production presence in the market as they ramp up production of movies and TV shows. Several developers have responded with plans for new studio projects and expansions around the Los Angeles region.
The HBO deal accounts for more than half the 300,000 square feet of rentable space on the 9.6-acre lot, owned by CIM since 2007. The Lot, as it is commonly known, has been home to a full slate of classic TV and movie productions since its 1918 debut, and has more recently been home to the HBO series “True Blood,” “Big Little Lies” and “Euphoria.”
“The long-term lease for the facilities is a mutually beneficial arrangement for CIM Group and HBO/HBO Max, and an extension of the strong working relationship that we have developed over many years,” said CIM Group co-founder and principal Shaul Kuba in a statement.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Janet Graham Borba, HBO’s executive vice president of production, said in the statement that the leasing provides an opportunity for HBO and its Max streaming service “to have a full-fledged, Hollywood studio home, and we look forward to many productions to come.”
Brokerage JLL reported that L.A.’s studio spaces have consistently been about 95% occupied since 2015. According to FilmLA, which tracks film permitting and related industry trends, Greater Los Angeles saw 10,127 media production shooting days in the third quarter, among the strongest quarters in a generation and a sign of momentum in the rebound from pandemic pullbacks in the media production capital.
Los Angeles-based CIM Group oversees a nationwide portfolio of commercial properties, including several that it has developed since its 1994 founding. It acquired the 11-acre West Hollywood property in 2007 and later completed a significant renovation of its offices, sound stages and support facilities, which now total 150,000 square feet.