Work starts on planned Media District building
Construction got underway last week on a $130-million office building in the popular Media District of Burbank, where rental space is increasingly hard to find.
Higgins Development Partners is erecting a seven-story building at 2300 W. Empire Ave. near Bob Hope Airport.
The project is the last phase of Empire Center, a retail, office and hotel development constructed on 103 acres that formerly held aerospace facilities for Lockheed Corp. near the Golden State Freeway.
The location is “the last in-fill and entitled site in the North Burbank Media District,” said Nader Shah, a senior vice president at the Chicago-based developer.
When completed in early 2009, the building will house 363,000 square feet of office space.
The Burbank Media District, a favorite of entertainment industry tenants, has had one of the lowest office vacancy rates in Southern California in recent years and stood at 5.4% at the end of the second quarter, according to real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. No tenants were announced for the new building.
The district serves industry giants such as Walt Disney Studios, NBC Studios and Warner Bros. Studios.
Chicago-based Walton Capital is a financial partner in the new office building. The design by Ware Malcomb of Irvine is intended to earn silver level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for environmentally friendly design, construction and operation.
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