NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES—Nearly 100 years since filming began on the Fox Studio Lot, Fox Corporation has announced ambitious plans to upgrade the lot with its Fox Future Studio Lot Project that seeks to build the studio of the future with a major expansion and overhaul of its Century City lot.
Born out of the Fox studio backlot, Century City was designed in 1957 to be the intersection of creativity, business, and entertainment production in Los Angeles. Fox Future plans to expand on that legacy nine new sound stages, modern production facilities and premium commercial office space that Fox says will have a direct local economic impact of $1.5 billion.
The company did not release any estimates of the projects cost or figures for Fox's planned investment.
"The Fox Studio Lot is one of the most iconic and treasured production locations in the history of entertainment and is a rich part of our history," said Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO, Fox Corporation. "The Fox Future project represents a long-term commitment to our industry, to our community, and to the City of Los Angeles."
The company reported that Fox Future project will:
- Build new multi-media sound stages as well as post-production facilities, basecamps, and media campus offices to respond to changing technologies and increased demand in film and television production, Fox reported.
- Create opportunities for much sought after top-of-class general office space in Century City with a new LEED-Platinum office building along Avenue of the Stars.
- Honor the significant legacy of this historic property.
- Maintain thousands of existing jobs by helping to curb runaway production and create new jobs throughout Southern California.
- Generate approximately $9 million in direct annual revenue to the City of Los Angeles that will help fund public services such as libraries, parks, police and fire services.
- Provide over $20 million in anticipated Transportation Improvement and Mitigation Fees which focus on West Los Angeles specific improvements.
- Advance sustainability efforts on the Fox Studio Lot with two new LEED-Platinum office buildings and other sustainability measures.
- Invest in West Los Angeles transit solutions and further support the much-anticipated Metro D-Line when it opens to Century City in 2025, Fox said.
In announcing the project, Fox noted that Los Angeles continues to struggle to meet the demand for sound stages, which is increasingly driving production and entertainment jobs outside the region.
With Fox Future, Fox will add nine net new sound stages to the Lot, bringing the number of stages to 24. Additional stages—equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and designed for modern film, television and content creation—will help meet entertainment industry demand and keep jobs in Los Angeles, Fox said.
Additionally, the project will create a LEED-Platinum designed media campus office building to support Fox Studio Lot operations. Located on the Lot along Olympic Boulevard, the 24-floor building will focus on creating collaborative open spaces and shared and private offices, all designed specifically for film and television production.
Fox also announced that it may seek a development partner to transform the northeast portion of the Lot along Avenue of the Stars into a world class, state-of-the-art building with 35 floors of office above seven floors of parking. The proposed office building would be designed to attract a notable corporate presence and provide a new headquartering opportunity in Century City.
Overall, Fox estimated that Fox Future is expected to be a major economic driver for the City of Los Angeles, responsible for an expected $1.5 billion in economic impact throughout Los Angeles County. It will also generate approximately $9 million annually in tax dollars that can be used to fund public services such as schools, libraries and emergency response services, Fox said.
Additional details about Fox Future as well as images, maps, project updates and more are available at www.FoxFuture.com.
