As film and TV studio services giant Quixote cuts down its exposure to empty soundstages, the lease at one of its vacated locations has been taken over with plans to make it a home base for a production label.
Producer Manny Halley has inked an agreement with Quixote to take over its 125,000-square-foot Montague Street location in Pacoima, about an hour-ish drive north from downtown Los Angeles. Halley’s team plans to use the complex, which has four soundstages across six acres, as the base of his Imani Studio.
A rep for Halley tells The Hollywood Reporter that the company’s takeover deal will be a 10-year lease term starting Sept. 1, followed by three five-year options. The property is owned by industrial real estate giant Rexford Industrial Realty.
In May, Halley’s production label got a greenlight from BET to produce a new mockumentary series titled Lot Patrol, which takes place on “the chaotic backlot of a major Hollywood studio,” and appears to be a fit for the type of space at the former Quixote location. Brian Rikuda, evp at BET, added of the lease takeover: “Supporting Black ownership and entrepreneurship across the entertainment industry remains deeply important to BET. As Manny Halley expands Imani Studios into a 125,000-square-foot production home, we’re proud to continue our partnership.”
