Movie studio coming to Warner Center, replacing Catalina Yachts building

More than two years after a Chicago-based company purchased the Catalina Yachts building in Woodland Hills for $61 million, it seeks to transform the former manufacturing facility into a motion picture studio, according to documents filed with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.

Butler Family Trust sold the 187,000-square-foot industrial building at 21200 Victory Blvd., which was used for manufacturing sailboats, to Walton Street Capital, a private equity firm, in 2022.

An application filed with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety seeks to change the use of existing manufacturing buildings to television and motion picture studios and increase the height of the building from 32.5 feet to 49.5 feet over a stage area.

“This property represented a unique and rare opportunity to acquire such a well-located facility with nearly 10 acres of underutilized land right off the 101 freeway,” said Andrew Gindy, Senior Principal at Walton Street, in a statement. “We are strong believers in the Warner Center area and surrounding specific plan given the recent proliferation of housing, retail, lodging, and commercial uses.”

 

The 187,000-square-foot industrial building, which includes two structures, was developed in the 1960s and has 60,000 square feet of office space. Plans for the building include improving the main structure to accommodate a motion picture studio.

The property was listed for sale in 2021 shortly after the passing of Frank Willis Butler, the president and CEO of Catalina Yachts, in 2020. Butler purchased the building from Rocketdyne in the 1970s to open headquarters for Catalina Yachts.

According to his obituary in The Log newspaper, his boatbuilding career started unexpectedly in 1962 after a company he contacted refused to build a 21-foot daysailer. However, the company workers gave him the tools and instructions for building the boat.

Butler didn’t just finish the boat but found a new passion: making boats for others. He eventually founded Catalina Yachts, which has become the largest builder of fiberglass production sailboats in the U.S.

John Walker, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowner Organization Inc., said he supported the new project but worried about traffic and safety issues.

“We are always worried about the traffic issues, and we want to make sure it’s not going to have a dramatic impact on congestion in the community,” he said.

If the development is an upgrade to the community, Walker added, “We’re happy to see that come in and we will give as much support as we possibly can.”