Nickelodeon Drawing Up Consolidation Plans?

Could Nickelodeon Animation Studios be consolidating its Santa Monica operations in Burbank? That certainly seems likely after the planning board approved a large expansion of the children’s network studios in the Media City, where it occupies buildings at Olive Avenue and Victory Boulevard housing more than 300 workers. The expansion would involve the construction of a 113,760-square-foot building at 203 W. Olive Ave., raising the possibility that the network will consolidate operations from roughly 120,000-square-feet of space it occupies at 2600 Colorado Ave. in Santa Monica. Jean Yoo, a Nickelodeon spokeswoman, declined to comment on the matter. But Mary Hamzoian, Burbank’s economic development manager, said she has heard the new building will bring 440 employees out of Santa Monica to work in Burbank. “We’ve heard the reason for the expansion was to consolidate all of their operations in Burbank,” she said. “And it’s not residentially adjacent so it won’t impact the residents negatively. It takes a blighted old location and creates an amazing project that’s good for the city.” The project is planned for an old United Rentals equipment business that has been closed for several years, and will include a 450-space multilevel parking structure. The project is being developed by Accord/ BRO Members LLC of Los Angeles. Joe Mansour, principal with the development firm, did not return calls or emails seeking comment. Demolition of the equipment-rental offices on the site could begin by the end of the year, according to Senior Planner Brian Foote, who noted the planning board meeting went off with little resistance to the proposal last month. “There were a couple of items discussed as far as parking, but that was the extent,” he said, adding that both the building and parking structure have a maximum height of five stories. The decision is final unless appealed to the City Council. Nickelodeon, a unit of Viacom Inc. of New York., is the home of SpongeBob Square Pants and other popular children’s shows. Quick Deal Within seven days of making a cold call, a Valley broker got a deal in place to sell two Encino apartment buildings. Michael Koshet, managing partner at a Tarzana branch of Re/Max Commercial, brokered the $13 million sale last month of a small portfolio of 71 units along Zelzah Avenue. The properties were sold by a private family trust to Landmark Realty & Property Management LLC of Sherman Oaks. Koshet said the heir to the buildings wanted an asset in closer proximity to where she lives in the Bay Area. The sale was made as part of a 1031 exchange, with the heir to the trust acquiring a building in the Bay Area. He said within a week of calling a broker at Landmark, the sale was virtually done. “I brought it to Landmark because they get things done,” he said. “They close deals.” Josh Trifunovic, an in-house broker for Land_mark, said the company saw the buildings as assets with potential upside and has plans to do some improvements over the next year or so. “It’s the original face and stucco work,” he said. “That’s 40 years old so we’ll look to modernize it.” The two buildings at 5210 and 5221 Zelzah Ave. were built in 1977 and are about 95 percent leased. Landmark manages about 2,500 units, most of which are in the San Fernando Valley. New Details? Some intriguing details about a proposed project for the Rocketdyne site in Warner Center have surfaced – including a $3 billion price tag. General plans for the 47-acre site at Canoga Avenue and Victory Boulevard have been public for more than a year, but the website of the project’s design firm, Boston Global Investors, now contains more information. The site indicates that the master planned development has an estimated cost of $3 billion and could contain a mix of residential, office, retail and hotel space. Boston Global also plans to pitch the development as a sustainable neighborhood. The project got its start after United Technologies Corp. of Hartford, Conn. sold rocket-engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to GenCorp. of Sacramento for $550 million last year. United Technologies maintained ownership of the land for development. Staff Reporter Elliot Golan can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or [email protected].