Studio Construction Receives Panel’s OK

Bringing a major new entertainment facility closer to reality, the city’s Redevelopment Agency Tuesday approved the construction of a full-scale animation studio by DreamWorks SKG.

The decision virtually guarantees final approval for the project since the City Council, whose members also make up the Redevelopment Agency board, lobbied aggressively to lure DreamWorks to Glendale.

“It’s a real coup, I think, for Glendale to get DreamWorks,” City Council member Eileen Givens said. “It’s going to be national and international attention that’s going to be given to Glendale because of this. It’s very exciting.”

The company, founded by entertainment executives Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, plans to build a nearly 500,000-square-foot campus with a Mediterranean theme. The campus, which will be on a 12-acre property along the Los Angeles River known as Crystal Springs, is expected to include seven buildings and a 1,000-space parking structure, interconnected through arcades, verandas, courtyards, bridges and a central piazza.

Michael Montgomery, a DreamWorks executive, said construction on the project may begin by the end of the year after final council approval, expected next month. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 new entertainment industry jobs, he said.

“We are very excited about this opportunity to develop this project in Glendale,” Montgomery said.

Officials said the agreement between DreamWorks and the Redevelopment Agency does not include city payment of any studio construction costs. The deal does include a $3-million investment by the city to improve local property for development, partly through the redesign and relocation of a water-treatment plant, officials said.

Jeanne Armstrong, the Redevelopment Agency’s director of development services, said the city will recapture its money through property taxes on what is expected to be a completed project with a $75-million value.

Several council members praised DreamWorks, saying the company would build an anchor for an area in need of development. The company will generate more business and prestige in Glendale, as well as in the rest of the region, they said.

Larry Zarian, also a City Council member, said the animation studio is bound to be good for the local economy.

“It again shows that Glendale is a key player in the entertainment industry,” Zarian said.