Viacom Is Moving Comedy Central, MTV And Spike Back To This Iconic Site

In a move reminiscent of the CBS Corporation CBS breakthrough comedy hit of the '70s "All In The Family," Viacom, Inc. VIAB will relocate cable TV networks Comedy Central, MTV, Spike TV, BET and TV Land back to their original CBS Hollywood studio site in early 2016.

A Los Angeles Times report confirms that West Coast-focused office REIT Kilroy Realty Corp KRC has signed a 12-year lease for 180,000 square feet with Viacom to anchor its 685,000 SF mixed use development Columbia Square. The live-work mixed-use site will also include a 200 unit 20-story residential tower and 30,000 SF of retail space.

California Focused

Los Angeles-based Kilroy continues to thrive by taking advantage of the growth in the Silicon Valley, West L.A.'s "Silicon Beach" and the gentrification and redevelopment wave underway in Hollywood, CA.

California Dreaming

Columbia Square is the first major media-anchored development in Hollywood since the iconic Capitol Records building was completed back in the '50s.

The original 1938 CBS studio and art-deco office building was the radio broadcast home for Jack Benny and a host of other '40s and '50s golden age of radio stars. CBS television programming also originated from the Sunset & Gower location up through the mid-2000s.

Kilroy had previously announced that New York City based NeueHouse, a private workspace collective, signed a 15-year lease to occupy 93,000 square feet in the original William Lescaze-designed Radio and Business buildings.

Movers And Shakers

Many investors may not be familiar with Southern California seismic or earthquake risks. In all of the excitement surrounding announcements such as this one, it is easy to overlook this critical risk factor.

Recent revelations regarding a major active fault line running through this area of Hollywood have cast a pall on high-rise development just north of the Columbia Square location.

A Successful Track Record

Kilroy has a 65 year history of developing and managing real estate in Southern California. Investors looking to cash in on the explosive growth in California have been rewarded handsomely investing with Kilroy since the Great Recession.

Hopefully this story will continue to have an old time Hollywood happy ending for investors.

Image credit: Elvert Barnes, Flickr