A 500,000-square-foot office and production studio campus would take shape at the northeastern corner of the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and North Highland Avenue under plans by CMNTY Culture, a company led by eight-time Grammy-winner and businessman Philip Lawrence and entertainment business manager Thomas St. John, the company announced late last week.
Named CMNTY Culture Campus, the proposed development would target content-creation companies by offering 430,000 square feet of creative office space alongside studio and production space, pre- and post-production facilities, education space, and performance venues at the 2-acre project site of 1518-1536 N. Highland Avenue and 6751-6767 Sunset Boulevard.
Designs are being led by SoFi Stadium architect HKS Architects, with landscape architect Hood Design Studio also involved. CBRE will manage the leasing process for the project.
“Content creators need a physical epicenter, a place that celebrates their work and the power of community,” Lawrence said in a statement. “CMNTY Culture Campus will be a place where creative people will want to hang out with like-minded individuals and experience something special.”
Along with more than 400,000 square feet of office space, the project would include 50,000 square feet of music studio and production space, 10,000 square feet of artist hospitality space, 10,000 square feet of education and performance space, 4,400 square feet of retail space, and a 500-seat auditorium at the corner of Highland and Sunset, according to a project website.
The 13-story project would cost $500 million to develop, the Los Angeles Times reports. Plans for the project were submitted last week.
The development process for CMNTY Culture Campus is being led by project executive David Malmuth, who led the Hollywood & Highland mixed-use development while with TrizecHahn Development.
Lawrence, who owns the nearby Record Plant recording studio, is known in part for his longtime songwriting, recording, and performance collaboration with artist Bruno Mars, launching CMNTY Culture in 2020.
Thomas St. John founded Thomas St. John Group, an international accounting and business management firm in the sports and entertainment industry.
“We want to create a place that is transparent and permeable,” HKS principal Heath May said in a statement.
“The musical instrument is not just the inspiration for the building, but it’s a metaphor for much of the design of CMNTY Culture Campus, creating a performative quality for the building dramatizing that there is something exciting happening here.”
