Hollywood has never been short on movie studios with history. A brand-new one, however, is a different kind of headline.

On Santa Monica Boulevard, where a former Sears store once stood, a $450 million studio complex is taking shape. Echelon Studios Hollywood is designed to put the working pieces of a traditional movie lot into a vertical campus, bringing soundstages, production support and creative offices together on a relatively compact Hollywood property.

At a moment when Los Angeles is worried about film and television work leaving town, the project is an unusually visible vote of confidence in making entertainment here.

A Studio Lot That Builds Up, Not Out

The address is 5601 Santa Monica Boulevard, near St. Andrews Place, west of the Hollywood Freeway. The site occupies roughly five acres, a fraction of the space associated with sprawling studio lots.

Rather than spread everything across long blocks of backlots and offices, the design stacks different functions. The developer describes four soundstages of approximately 18,000 square feet each, plus a 14,000-square-foot flexible stage. That is five production stages in all, although one is specifically designated for flexible use.

The larger stages are planned with 40-foot clear heights, while the flexible stage has a 25-foot clear height. The complex also includes facilities for building sets, production support, basecamp operations and creative workspace.

Above portions of the working campus, landscaped courtyards and elevated bungalows borrow an idea from classic Hollywood studio culture. These are intended as places for writers, producers and creative teams to work, meet and retreat from the activity below. It's an old studio-lot tradition with a distinctly modern address: upstairs.

The developer's current marketing materials describe approximately 600,000 rentable square feet overall. Other project materials use different totals, so the figure should be understood as a marketing estimate rather than a final, independently measured area.

Why Build a New Studio Now?

For Hollywood, the question is as interesting as the architecture. Southern California's production industry has faced fierce competition from other filming locations, changing studio spending and a difficult period for film and television crews.

Developer David Simon, whose BARDAS Investment Group is behind the project with Bain Capital Real Estate, is betting that Hollywood's concentration of talent, services and entertainment companies still matters. A modern facility could make it easier for productions to keep more of their work close to the people and businesses that support it.

That is a business strategy, not a guaranteed outcome. A new soundstage cannot, by itself, bring back every production that has moved elsewhere. Whether the campus fills with active productions will depend on tenants, industry demand and the economics of shooting in Los Angeles.

Still, the decision to build is notable. Instead of repurposing an old stage or announcing a distant concept, the developers have advanced a major purpose-built production facility in the neighborhood most closely associated with the entertainment industry.

Construction footage: Western States Carpenters documented work on the Echelon Studios project.

How Far Along Is Construction?

Construction began in 2024. In June 2026, the project reached a visible milestone when the final structural steel beam was placed, an event known as topping out. That means the primary steel structure had reached its planned height; it does not mean the studios were ready for productions to move in.

The opening timetable deserves particular attention. The developer's current project website still advertises a 2026 delivery, but the Los Angeles Times reported on September 30, 2026, that the studio was expected to open in early 2027. The later estimate may reflect a change in schedule, but the developer has not published a specific confirmed opening date on its project website.

Those dates are projections, not a confirmed public opening day. Anyone considering the project for business or production use should check directly with the developer for current leasing and delivery information.

What Could Neighbors Notice?

Unlike a visitor attraction, this is primarily a working production campus. Its effects on the surrounding neighborhood may be less about ticket lines and more about daily activity: employees arriving, vendors making deliveries, production vehicles moving equipment and street-level businesses serving people who work nearby.

The plans also include street-level retail space, potentially bringing a more active edge to the property along Santa Monica Boulevard. The developer's website lists 9,000 square feet of retail, while June construction reporting describes a larger restaurant component. Recent reporting also describes a planned public-facing artwork by Los Angeles artist Matthew Brandt. Those spaces should not be confused with a promise of public access to the soundstages or private bungalows.

Questions about traffic, parking and construction impacts matter to residents and businesses, too. Those practical details should be evaluated against current city approvals and operational plans rather than assumed from glossy renderings.

A Bigger Bet on Hollywood's Identity

Echelon is not the only Hollywood property tied to the developer's ambitions. Another planned studio redevelopment at Television Center on Romaine Street involves a historic production-related site, although it is a separate project with its own schedule and scope.

That broader context makes the Santa Monica Boulevard construction especially interesting. Hollywood is not simply preserving old studio landmarks; developers are also testing whether a new generation of production space can succeed in the neighborhood.

The project's five stages won't settle the future of Los Angeles filmmaking. But the sight of a new studio rising where a department store once stood offers a striking local contrast: Hollywood's next chapter is being built, quite literally, on top of its past.

References and Official Sources

• Echelon Studios Hollywood — official project
• Echelon Management — current specifications
• BARDAS Investment Group — project status
• RIOS — project architect
• Bain Capital — original investment announcement
• Urbanize LA — June 2026 topping-out report
• Los Angeles Times — September 2026 reporting
• Western States Carpenters — construction video and project profile