Apple, signaling its major entertainment-industry ambitions, is significantly boosting its L.A. footprint: The tech giant said it’s building two new facilities, along the border of Culver City and the City of Los Angeles, that will serve as its headquarters for the region.
The complex will encompass more than 550,000 square feet once completed. An Apple rep said it will be a “mixed use” facility but did not have details on what kind of production studio space will be part of the development. Construction is currently underway. Apple declined to provide an estimate for when the new buildings will be operational. “We’re in the early planning stages and will have more to share down the line,” the rep said.
The new campus is located along National, Venice and Washington boulevards, according to Apple. The two facilities will be connected by a “shared wall.”
Apple opened its first offices in Culver City in 2014 and currently has more 1,500 employees working in the L.A. area. In 2018, Apple leased a 128,000-square-foot office building in Culver City at 8777 Washington Blvd. (which HBO had previously planned to occupy) that is about two blocks away from the new complex.
Employees working in the Culver City location include members of its Apple TV Plus and Apple Music teams, engineers, artificial intelligence/machine learning researchers, and staffers in other divisions.
This April, as part of Apple’s pledge to create 20,000 new U.S. jobs over the next five years, the company said it expects to grow its Culver City headcount to more than 3,000 employees by 2026 and that it would expand its “state-of-the-art campus with additional space for these employees.”
According to Apple, as with all its facilities, the new Culver City/L.A. campus will incorporate environmentally sustainable building features and be powered by 100% renewable energy.
The company noted that the site is accessible via several bus lines and is located next to Culver City’s Ivy Station development, which is adjacent to the Metro Expo Line transit station. In addition, Apple said it plans to offer shuttle service, support for cyclists, and other commuting alternatives for workers.
The addresses of the new buildings are 8825 National Blvd. and 8871 Washington Blvd. in Culver City, and 8827 and 8829 National Blvd. and 8876, 8884, 8886 and 8888 Venice Blvd. in the City of Los Angeles.
In November 2020, Apple bought a square block of property in that area from Venice Pacific Investments in a deal valued at $162 million, the Real Deal reported.
Pictured above: Artist rendering of Apple’s planned building complex in L.A. and Culver City
