One year after our last update, the Warner Bros. Second Century expansion is complete just north of the SR-134 Freeway in Burbank.
View looking northeast from above the 134 FreewaySora courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP
The Frank Gehry-designed office complex, located at the back half of The Burbank Studios Lot, was built through a joint venture between Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Fund. The project includes a total of 800,000 square feet of offices atop a large underground parking structure.
Gehry's design for the complex includes seven- and nine-story buildings, clad with a glass facade that allows the hulking buildings to loom above the adjacent freeway like icebergs. Punched metal lines the northern facade of the buildings, which face the interior of the lot. The project includes a series of upper level terrace decks, which will be for use by Warner Bros. employees - roughly 4,500 of whom will work out of the Second Century buildings.
View of Warner Bros. Second Century Expansion looking southeastHunter Kerhart Architectural Photography
"It has been my great pleasure to bring this project to life with my client and collaborator Jeff Worthe," said Gehry in a news release. "It doesn't take more time or more money to make good architecture, but it does take a careful, thoughtful, and intensely involved client. Jeff was with me at every turn, bringing his talents to bear on the process. From the start, we were interested in making office space that felt more special to be in than the typical office buildings - taller ceilings, more natural light. I hope that the folks who work here will feel the love and talent that my team poured into the project."
The project, named for the 100-year anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios, is the centerpiece 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.
As part of that deal, 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 redevelopment of the 32-acre ranch property, which will see the construction of approximately 926,000 square feet of offices and soundstages. Warner Bros. has already agreed to lease the new buildings in a deal announced in 2021.
Studio-facing view of the Second Century ProjectSora courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP
Worthe, which is based in Santa Monica, is making 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.
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- Warner Bros. Second Century Project (Urbanize LA)
