ast End Studios, an independent studio management and development company, has recently unveiled a new 97,000-square-foot studio campus in Glendale.
Shep Wainwright, managing partner at East End Capital, highlighted the collaboration with architecture and design firm Bell Design Group, describing the project as a contemporary, 21st-century studio. The studio, located at 1233 S Glendale Ave., features two large-scale stages with elephant doors that open directly to the parking lot, facilitating easy access for trucks to unload and reload onto different sets.
Wainwright emphasized the state-of-the-art design of the stages, noting the importance of maximizing efficiency through the parking lot access. Glendale’s proximity to Burbank and Hollywood makes it an ideal location for the studio’s operation. He also praised the city’s support and cooperation, noting the benefits of Glendale’s smaller city feel, which allowed for more direct communication with city staff.
The property, split between residential and commercial zones, required careful planning. The team built the parking lot in the residential zone while constructing the studio on the commercial portion. Wainwright acknowledged the initial concerns about navigating zoning restrictions but appreciated Glendale’s balanced approach to the permitting process, which respected zoning rules while finding creative solutions to ensure the project’s vision was realized.
Luis Macias, project manager at Bell Design Group, discussed the effort to integrate the building with the surrounding community. The design features a curtain wall system and window glazing to reduce the building’s size and scale, creating an interactive dynamic between the sidewalk activity and the studio space.
The five-story structure, including mezzanine and rooftop spaces, offers a range of facilities such as hair and makeup rooms, greenscreen technology, changing rooms, production offices, screening rooms, writing rooms, and individual distribution frame (IDF) rooms. These IDF rooms house all the data from filmed content, a feature that is not typically found in standard studios, saving the studio money and making it fully equipped for digital production.
The rooftop area is designed for special events, lunch catering, meetings, and filming interviews. Since its opening, the studio has already hosted several commercial shoots from well-known companies across various industries.
With the resumption of television production following industry strikes, Wainwright hopes the studio can accommodate an episodic TV series, describing it as the “perfect mini campus” for such projects. He expressed optimism about the industry’s economic recovery by the third or fourth quarter of this year and mentioned ongoing discussions with several streaming services and networks for potential collaborations.
East End Studios is also planning another, larger studio project in Glendale on San Fernando Road. This upcoming 600,000-square-foot studio will feature 11 stages, with hopes to break ground soon.
