Lights, Camera, Engineering

Langan Plays Lead Role Designing Studio Spaces

Hollywood has produced many successful rags-to-riches stories, and now that theme is playing out around the country with the redevelopment of troubled real estate into thriving studio space. With the advent of streaming services, and the seemingly insatiable demand for entertainment content, the need for real estate has taken the industry well beyond Tinseltown.

New studio development typically takes place on blighted waterfronts and industrial land close to population centers, or involves adaptive reuse of abandoned warehouses, all of which present big engineering and environmental challenges. For example, in addition to architectural and structural constraints because of the irregular, open space required for a studio, developers must also consider the amount of space available at each site and its accessibility to highways and transit centers.

“Like any real estate development, accelerating schedule is the goal, because when it comes to studios, the sooner the cameras start rolling, the better,” said Ryan Manderbach, Senior Associate, Langan. “In most cases, our familiarity with the subsurface challenges and our ability to guide clients through complex permitting processes have brought real value to multiple projects.”

So if you’re in the real estate business, studio development has become a “must-watch” sector. From New York and Boston to Oregon and Virginia, new studio spaces are viable far from the glare of the iconic Hollywood Sign. And Langan is often on location, tackling technical challenges so clients can make movie magic.