USC's School of Cinematic Arts wants to turn a surface parking lot on West 32nd Street into a two-stage virtual production facility wrapped in LED panels, a project the university hopes to open by Fall 2027. The planned Blavatnik Center for Virtual Production would rise at 625 W. 32nd St. in University Park, tucked between the school's existing Cinematic Arts complex and the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts.
The project traces back to a $25 million lead gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, announced the previous year, according to Urbanize LA. USC first announced that gift in June 2025 and is now targeting a Fall 2027 opening, according to USC Cinematic Arts. Donor Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries, is the majority owner of Warner Music Group and an investor in indie studio A24, and has donated more than $1 billion globally through his family foundation, according to Lifestyles Magazine.
The 15,000-square-foot building will replace an existing surface parking lot, per Urbanize LA's reporting. Design plans call for a contemporary two-story structure clad in painted plaster and metal, with courtyards separating the new construction from existing buildings to the east and west, the outlet reports.
Two Stages Built for Flexibility
Inside, the center will house two LED-wrapped stages that can run independently for smaller student projects or be combined into a single continuous set for larger productions, according to USC Cinematic Arts. The stages will integrate camera tracking, performance capture, and lighting systems, per the same account, along with classrooms and labs equipped with 3D design software, per Urbanize LA.
USC virtual production program co-head Habib Zargarpour said in 2025 that virtual production is becoming a standard industry component, letting students spend more time executing creative visions and less time on prep work, according to the Los Angeles Times. Virtual production relies on real-time gaming engines like Unreal Engine to display dynamic backdrops behind actors instead of traditional location shoots.
A Studio Architect's Track Record
USC selected Bastien & Associates, Inc. to design the building, according to Urbanize LA. The firm has previously designed major Southern California studio complexes, including NBCUniversal's ground-up Area 51 soundstages in Universal City, according to MATT Construction.
The new center's neighbor, the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, has its own layered history. That building incorporates the historic facade of Los Angeles Fire Department Station No. 15, which had served the University Park neighborhood since 1904 before it was relocated to West 32nd Street on October 5, 2015, when USC funded a replacement fire station on Hoover Boulevard, according to USC Today. That relocation marked the cinema school's most recent expansion along 32nd Street, per Urbanize LA.
A Century-Old Film School Bets on the Future
USC's School of Cinematic Arts is the nation's oldest film school, founded in 1929 in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and launched with an Introduction to Photoplay course taught by Douglas Fairbanks Sr., according to USC Cinematic Arts. The Blavatnik Center adds a modern chapter to that history at a moment when major film schools nationwide are racing to build similar facilities.
USC's project joins a national trend among universities investing in virtual production, including New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, which opened the Martin Scorsese Center for Virtual Production. Separately, traditional U.S. motion picture and video production employment fell by roughly 30% from its late-2022 peak, Hoodline previously reported.
City Approvals Still Pending
Before construction can begin, the project needs sign-off from the City of Los Angeles, including adoption of a general plan amendment, a zone change, and other discretionary entitlements, per Urbanize LA. The project site is at 625 W. 32nd St. No timeline for those city approvals has been made public.
