Putting the "City" Back Into "Universal City"

Let the controversy begin. NBC Universal yesterday unveiled its long-expected master plan for what to do with its massive Universal City site, and it's a big one. Residential units, a town square, a reconfigured back lot, a renovated theme park and CityWalk... it's gonna be big. And NBC U will surely face some big time opposition from area residents, who have fought past plans by Universal's former owners to re-develop the land.

But this time out, NBC U has friends in high places -- most notably, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who helped unveil the NBC U plan on Wednesday. And this is by far the most extensive plan unveiled by any Universal lot owner (past and present), and appears to have been exhaustively designed to counteract any past concerns (particularly traffic issues) that have arisen.



The NBC U plan -- dubbed "UCVision" (NBC U apparently loves nicknames) -- can be found here. Variety's Gabe Snyder highlights the key points:

:: Universal Village, a 124-acre residential development, which will include apartments, townhomes and condos, that will be built on the currently unused land on the lot nearest Barham Boulevard.
:: Universal City MTA Station, an office building and retail project to be built on the site of the MTA-owned transit hub on Lankershim Boulevard, adjacent to the lot. Thomas Properties Group would develop the site and NBC Universal would be the anchor tenant of the 650,000-square-foot project.
:: On the lot itself, construction of new and relocated outdoor sets, post-production facilities, soundstages, producer bungalows, office space, film vault and prop and costume shops.
:: Construction of a new four-lane public road through the lot roughly parallel to Barham Boulevard that would connect the residential development to the CityWalk and Universal Studios entrance on Cahuenga, as well as access improvements to the 101 and 134 freeways.

NBC U believes the project will generate 11,000 new jobs and contribute $4 billion to the economy. But it's not going to happen overnight. Because Universal City actually sits partly in Los Angeles and partly in unincorporated Los Angeles County, both entities will have to approve the plan... which will take at least two to three years.