Google plans to open office for entertainment division in Beverly Hills

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Google is opening an office for its entertainment division in Beverly Hills.

The Internet search giant will occupy more than 13,000 square feet in a city-owned building. The Beverly Hills City Council approved the 11-year lease agreement valued at $6.3 million at a meeting on Tuesday.

Google will move into its new digs by year’s end. A person familiar with the situation said the office will house employees from YouTube and Google.

‘The location in our emerging entertainment business district is a perfect fit both for Google and for the city,’ Beverly Hills Mayor Barry Brucker said in a written statement.

This is Google’s second major real estate deal in Los Angeles this year. In January it signed a lease for more than 100,000 square feet in the Frank Gehry-designed Binoculars Building in Venice.

A Google spokesman declined to comment.

Google is looking to establish a greater presence in Los Angeles as people begin to watch more online video on their televisions. In October the company launched Google TV, which has raised concerns in Hollywood. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Google plans to spend as much as $100 million to create low-cost original content for channels on its popular video-sharing site YouTube, choosing to invest in content rather than license it.

Other tenants in the Foothill Road building include film and TV production company Participant Media and Beverly Hills’ cable station. Nearby neighbors include AOL and Netflix.

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-- Jessica Guynn