Just north of the SR-134 Freeway in Burbank, vertical construction is all but finished for the Warner Bros. Second Century expansion, and exterior finishes are climbing the hulking concrete buildings.
View of The Burbank Studios and the Second Century Project from across the 134 FreewaySora courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP
The Frank Gehry-designed project, located at southernmost portion of The Burbank Studios Lot, is being developed through a joint venture between Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Fund. Two new buildings will feature 800,000 square feet of offices atop a large underground parking structure when completed.
The Second Century project consists of seven- and nine-story structures, which have glass facades that loom above the 134 Freeway like icebergs. Along the northern side of the buildings, which face the interior of the Burbank Studios lot, the facade is punched metal. Both buildings feature upper level setbacks will be used as terrace decks for use by Warner Bros. employees.
View looking northeast from above the 134 FreewaySora courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP
The project, named in anticipation of the upcoming 100-year anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios in 2023, is being built as the result of a more than $1-billion land swap agreement between Worthe, Stockbridge, and now former Warner Bros. parent company AT&T, which allowed the developers to acquire four other properties - most notably the 30-acre Warner Bros. Ranch.
At the completion of construction in 2023, all operations currently based out of the ranch site are to eventually be relocated to the Second Century Project. That move will allow Worthe and Stockbridge to embark on a $500-million revamp of the 32-acre ranch property, which will add 926,000 square feet of offices and soundstages. Warner Bros. has already agreed to lease the new buildings in a deal announced last year.
Worthe, which is based in Santa Monica, has placed a big bet on the Burbank office market, which has benefited in recent years from the growth of streaming companies such as Netflix. The company is reportedly teaming with the Blackstone Group on another 500,000-square-foot office building that would rise across the street from the Burbank Studios lot.
The Burbank venture is the second partnership between Worthe Real Estate and Gehry, following a proposed hotel and residential complex on Ocean Avenue in Downtown Santa Monica.
View looking southeastSora courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP
- Warner Bros. Second Century Project (Urbanize LA)
