Nickelodeon unveils new West Coast HQ in Burbank

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With Burbank mayor Jess Talamantes at center left, President of the Nickelodeon Group Cyma Zarghami, center right holding scissors, cut the ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and more than 20 show productions. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Nickelodeon held a ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and more than 20 show productions. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Burbank mayor Jess Talamantes, right, gives voice of Spongebob Squarepants Tom Kenny, center, a commendation during Nickelodeon’s ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and more than 20 show productions. At left is the voice of Spongebob’s friend Patrick, Bill Fagerbakke. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Media members got a chance to meet animation production senior VP David Steinberg, center, before Nickelodeon’s ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and more than 20 show productions. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Media members got a chance to meet ith The Fairly OddParents creator and executive producer Butch Hartman before Nickelodeon’s ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and more than 20 show productions. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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President of the Nickelodeon Group Cyma Zarghami spoke before the ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and more than 20 show productions. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Vice chair of the board Shari Redstone spoke before Nickelodeon’s ribbon during ceremony for their new state-of-the-art building at the Olive Avenue campus in Burbank on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. The 5-story building, with more than 200,000 square-feet of space, will house more than 700 employees and move than 20 show productions. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

By Anthony Clark Carpio

Jan. 13, 2017 4:16 PM PT

Nickelodeon has spent the last 19 years in Burbank, developing and animating some of the cable network’s most popular shows at its 72,000-square-foot facility. However, with the opening of a new, larger building, the company is looking to commit to the Media City for another two decades or more.

On Wednesday, officials from Burbank and Nickelodeon gathered at the company’s campus on Olive Avenue to celebrate the grand opening of the network’s new 200,000-square-foot, five-story complex that has updated workspaces and other amenities aimed at making the animation process more collaborative.

The complex also has a redesigned courtyard where the company can host events, an art gallery where employees and their friends can showcase their work, a café for employees and an additional three voice-over studios.

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Nickelodeon's new campus on Olive Avenue in Burbank is five-stories tall and has updated workspaces and amenities for more than 700 employees.

There are also plans to update the original studio, which opened in 1998.

Scattered across the campus are tribute pieces to classic and new Nickelodeon shows and employees who have worked on them. In the courtyard is a sculpture of Stimpy from “The Ren & Stimpy Show” in a Zen garden, stone benches etched with quotes and artwork from show creators and a New York City manhole cover that is a nod to the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

Nickelodeon spokeswoman Ariana Urbont said there are also flag poles in the courtyard that will have banners featuring all of the animated and live-action shows in current production.

Butch Hartman, creator of “The Fairly OddParents” said there was nothing wrong with the original facility. However, the new amenities and setup make the campus “feel like being in a Mercedes.”

Because the new facility is much larger, the Burbank site will become the main West Coast hub for Nickelodeon, and the company will consolidate its Santa Monica, Hollywood and Glendale offices into the Media City location, where more than 700 employees will work.

Butch Hartman, creator and executive producer of "The Fairly OddParents," talks to the media during ribbon-cutting ceremony for Nickelodeon's new state-of-the-cart campus in Burbank.

“Nickelodeon is a culture of communication, and so we do a lot of meetings,” said Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon group. “Meetings are ways for people to get work and move it forward in real time. By having everybody together, we will be able to move things quickly ... People are really happy to be down the hall from one another.”

With the company continuing to grow, Zarghami said she is looking forward to seeing Nickelodeon form a better connection with children and the surrounding communities.

“I’m excited about being able to let Nickelodeon have a relationship with its audience off of television so that they’ll keep coming back in a sort of virtual circle,” she said.

Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio