Not that long ago, "CBS Television City in Hollywood" — which is not now and has never really been in Hollywood — was sold to a developer who wants to convert the place into a huge combination TV facility and retail mall. Nothing noticeable changed there right away except that at one point, they took down most (not all) of the big "CBS" signs and a week or two later, they put back most (not all) of the big "CBS" signs. It still looks pretty much like the same place, filled with history, memories, and people trying to get in to play Plinko on The Price is Right.
But that will change…and recently, the surrounding community learned how much the developers want that precious parcel of real estate to change. As I live in that surrounding community, I am being blanketed and leafleted with cries to stop those folks from doing what they want to do.
Their plans, I am told, include a building of two million square feet in size including "1.4 million square feet of office development." There would be buildings twenty stories tall with a parking lot for 5,000+ cars which will somehow all go to and fro on the not-particularly-wide streets around there. The main one is the one where James Corden keeps snarling traffic when he and his crew go out to shoot one of their Crosswalk Musicals. Here — watch this and tell me if you think this street can handle thousands more cars per day…
The complex they plan would also have "14 mega sound stages for new audience shows, utilizing 18-wheeler production trucks." It all sounds way too big for this area.
In fact, it sounds so "way too big" to me that I suspect the developers are deliberately overstating what they want to build, knowing there will be opposition and that they'll have to scale back their plans to get the necessary go-aheads. It's like when I want to sell a car worth $1000 and I ask $3000 for it so you can talk me down to $2000 and feel like you won something. But I also suspect that what the developers really want to build — what they're secretly prepared to settle for — is still way too massive and congestive for the area.
So I'm joining the opposition. I'm not sure what (if anything) I can do except to just sit here and passively oppose…but I'm at least going to do that. Maybe I'll go to a public hearing or something. If you're in the area and you want to join me, here's the website. If you're not in the area but would like to see some vestige of CBS Television City remain, you might also want to keep an eye on this matter.