Playboy to Hop Across Town
The Playboy bunny is taking a big leap across town as the adult entertainment company moves the headquarters of its entertainment division from Beverly Hills to an industrial area near the Los Angeles River.
About 200 employees of Playboy Entertainment--the video, cable television and feature film arm of the company--are scheduled to start moving in September to a 64,000-square-foot building in the Glassell Park section of Los Angeles near the intersection of the Golden State and Glendale freeways. The value of the 10-year lease is about $14 million, according to people familiar with the deal.
The area, dominated by a hodgepodge of industrial and distribution plants, auto repair shops, a supermarket and railroad tracks, lacks the amenities and high profile of Beverly Hills, where Playboy Entertainment has been headquartered for 10 years on Beverly Boulevard. (The parent company, Playboy Enterprises Inc. is headquartered in Chicago). The news that Playboy would pass up established entertainment industry clusters in nearby Burbank and Glendale for a sleepy section of Los Angeles surprised residents and real estate specialists.
“That seems kind of weird,” said songwriter Steve Dudas, who was at the Ralphs supermarket adjacent to Playboy’s new complex. “Why would they move here?”
The area might be short on fine dining, but Playboy’s new location off San Fernando Road gives the firm’s entertainment division expansion room at bargain leasing rates, while putting it in close proximity to a new production and soundstage facility, company officials said.
“This is just a real good move for us,” said Playboy Entertainment spokesman Scott Barton. Playboy will retain a small Beverly Hills office on Wilshire Boulevard for the use of some corporate staff as well as founder Hugh Hefner.
Playboy Entertainment will move to a complex that was designed for dot-com, telecom and other technology firms. But, as the high-tech industry sank, the developer of the Los Angeles Media Tech Center, Foster City-based Legacy Partners, switched gears and started seeking more traditional tenants. Now, the first phase of the seven-building, 400,000-square-foot is completely leased to tenants ranging from Playboy to the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, said Legacy Regional Vice President Beth Calder.
The monthly rents at the complex average below $1.75 a square foot--well below that of Beverly Hills, Burbank and Glendale, real estate brokers said.
