Sunset Media Center keeps its largest tenant and adds a new one

Amid a multimillion-dollar renovation, Sunset Media Center is wooing new tenants and keeping old ones with 10-year leases at the 22-story Hollywood property on Sunset Boulevard east of Vine Street.

Longtime tenant Nielsen Media Research has renewed its lease but for only 2 1/2 of the 22 floors in the building. Despite the decrease from four floors, it will remain the largest tenant.

FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit organization that handles filming permits for the city and the county, is moving its headquarters to the media center from downtown Los Angeles.

The new headquarters will occupy one floor in the Hollywood high-rise.

L.A. office landlord Kilroy Realty Corp. purchased the Sunset Media Center last year for $79 million, and David Simon, the company’s executive vice president, said the two new leases are a win for the property.

“It’s an acknowledgment that Hollywood is a great place to work and live and it’s a great location,” Simon said.

In recent years, the area around Sunset and Vine has seen substantial improvements with the addition of new apartments, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and stores.

The prime location is one of the best selling points for this property, said Josh Gorin, senior vice president at brokerage firm Studley Inc.

“From a production perspective, you have good proximity to the studios,” he said, “so you have Paramount nearby, Disney and Warner Bros. are just over the hill, and Sony isn’t too far away.

“Also, from a talent perspective, you have quite a large concentration of actors who live around that area. And I also think from an employee perspective, there is an appeal because Hollywood offers public transportation options that you don’t really get in most other areas.”

Simon added that his company decided to pour “several million dollars” into the property, upgrading both the interior and exterior, because the demand for higher-quality office space in Hollywood is growing.

“The lack of quality product in the market is what’s missing,” he said. Kilroy is “turning this into a really creative and collaborative environment.”

Construction began about two months ago and should be complete by the end of the year. The outdoor plaza in front of the building is being remodeled to be more welcoming to passersby, Simon said.

“The feel for the whole building will be brought up to today’s standard,” he said.

On the first floor are a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf store and the Waffle restaurant. Among other tenants, FilmL.A. will be joining production firm Magical Elves Inc.

“They’re a very well-known entertainment production company,” Gorin said. “They also moved from downtown to this building a couple years ago.”

Magical Elves produces television shows such as “Top Chef,” “Project Runway” and “Last Comic Standing.”

There is still room for at least a couple of companies to move into the Sunset Media Center, said Gorin, who represented both FilmL.A. and Nielsen in the deals. About 76,000 square feet is still available inside the 322,000-square-foot building, including two entire floors, he said.

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