Disney is planning to vacate the Fox Studio Lot by the end of the year as it looks to bring its Los Angeles-based production teams closer together in Burbank, TheWrap has learned.
As part of Fox’s $71.3 billion deal with Disney in 2019, the former kept control of the 53-acre lot on Pico Boulevard in Century City and reached a seven-year leaseback deal with Disney to avoid production disruptions.
Over the past year, Disney Entertainment Television has been actively working to create a creative hub where its production teams can work more closely together, an insider familiar with the matter tells TheWrap. As part of the plan, Disney has decided to not renew its lease and its teams based at the Fox lot are in various stages of relocating to workplaces in Burbank, including the Disney Studio Lot. All moves are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
The Fox lot, which was first established in 1928 has been the filming location for classic movies such as “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Sound of Music.” In recent years, its production facilities have been home to ABC’s “Modern Family,” “Speechless” and “Fresh Off the Boat,” as well as Ryan Murphy’s FX shows and Fox’s “The Orville,” “The Mick” and “LA to Vegas,” among others. Plans for current productions that film at the space, such as “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Lone Star,” remain unknown.
A spokesperson for Disney declined to comment, while a representative for Fox told TheWrap that the lot is “second to none in terms of location and premium production and post-production facilities available.” Fox has already received significant interest from various parties about future agreements, an insider told TheWrap.
Disney’s move comes as Fox is seeking regulatory approval to expand the lot, with plans to add two new energy-efficient office buildings, including one along the Avenue of the Stars and another on Olympic Boulevard, and nine new state-of-the-art sound stages on the lot, bringing the total to 24. Fox Sports Studio A will also see a “reinvention,” the company said, to incorporate the latest graphics technology.
The Avenue of the Stars building will include 35 stories along with seven levels of parking. It will feature a new public plaza and access to the Metro D-Line when the public transit project is complete in 2025. Fox said it will also be putting $20 million into “transportation solutions” that aim to mitigate the impact of the development.
The 24-story tower on Olympic Boulevard will include collaborative open spaces and shared and private offices designed for film and television production. Both buildings will be constructed using green and recycled building materials, solar infrastructure and other sustainability features.
Fox previously said the expansion will help create nearly 5,000 new jobs and maintain about 3,000 existing jobs throughout Southern California by meeting industry demand in L.A. It also said the project would have a $1.5 billion economic impact and generate $9 million in direct annual revenue to the City of Los Angeles to help fund public services.
