Excavation Underway for Hollywood Office Building

Earlier this month, developer Hudson Pacific Properties commenced excavation for Icon, a 14-story office tower on the Sunset Bronson Studios campus (SBS).

The 200-foot tall edifice, designed by architecture firm Gensler, will rise from the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue, creating a total of 315,000 square feet of creative office space.  Artistic renderings portray a mid-rise structure, described by the Architect's Newspaper as consisting of "five rectangular, stacked volumes, offset horizontally to create exterior terraces."

Icon is part of a $150 million expansion of Sunset Bronson Studios which will completely remodel the eastern half of the approximately 10-acre campus.  Plans call for the construction of a 90,000-square-foot production facility and a 1,600-car parking garage along Van Ness Avenue, both of which broke ground last September.  The project also includes the refurbishment of the SBS Executive Office Building, a 1920s structure which once housed the headquarters of Warner Brothers.

The Los Angeles Times previously reported that completion of the SBS expansion is expected by late 2016.

A Quick Trip Through the Sunset Boulevard Boom

This past weekend, a broken water main spilled untold gallons of precious drinking water onto the Sunset Strip, dealing yet another blow to drought-stricken California.  On the other hand, flooding of a more figurative (and less dire) sort is also occurring further east along the iconic thoroughfare.  Let's for get about LADWP's woes for a moment as we check in on the deluge of mixed-use developments adding new office space and residential units between Vine Street and the Hollywood Freeway.

As reported in mid-September, Hudson Pacific Properties has quietly broken ground on the long planned expansion of Sunset Bronson Studios (see above).  The $150 million project will ultimately create over 400,000 square feet of Class-A office space, mostly contained within a 14-story, Gensler-designed tower.  The staggered massing of the stout, 200-foot building will create a unique presence within the mid-rise Hollywood skyline.  Currently, construction crews are removing asphalt from the southeast corner of the SBS campus, clearing the way for an immense 1,600-vehicle parking garage.

Big Sunset Bronson Studios Expansion to Break Ground Next Week

Icon at SBS (Image credit: Hudson Pacific Properties)

Hollywood's well documented construction boom continues to surge, as yet another skyline altering project prepares to break ground near the 101 Freeway.  According to Bisnow, local landlord Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP) plans to begin work next week on a long-awaited expansion of Sunset Bronson Studios (SBS).  The $150 million development, designed by architectural firm Gensler, will retool the eastern side of the SBS campus with a new parking garage and approximately 400,000 square feet of office and production space.

HPP's expansion project is highlighted by Icon, a 14-story office tower slated for the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue.  The 315,000 square foot structure will stand roughly 200 feet tall, creating a commanding presence above the nearby freeway trench.  An August piece from the Architect's Newspaper describes the building as featuring "five rectangular, stacked volumes, offset horizontally to create exterior terraces."  Facade elements will variate between precast panels and a glass curtain wall, breaking down the tower's broad, imposing scale.

Moving south from Sunset Boulevard, the project will include two new buildings of a lower height profile.  The first, a five-story production building, will contain 90,000 square feet of production office space and a ground-level cafe.  The second, a seven-story garage, will rise adjacent to the production building and offer parking accommodations for 1,600 vehicles.