West Hollywood city officials are weighing ways to keep film and television studios from leaving town, after Quixote Studios told clients it was winding down its soundstage on Fuller Avenue. City staff are expected to recommend ways to preserve The Lot and similar businesses as the city considers the future of local production spaces.
Quixote's Retreat From West Hollywood
Quixote said earlier this year it was beginning to wind down most of its Los Angeles soundstage business, including its main commercial studio in West Hollywood and its North Valley studio in Pacoima, according to the Los Angeles Times. The company's commercial soundstage at 1011 N. Fuller Ave. in West Hollywood is shutting down, WEHOonline reported. Quixote is also closing its Atlanta operations as part of a broader cost-reduction effort by parent company Hudson Pacific Properties, though its Griffith Park studio will remain open.
About 70 employees across Atlanta and Los Angeles are expected to be laid off, though the Times report does not break the figure down by location. Hudson Pacific expects the cuts to save between $21 million and $27 million a year, after it bought Quixote in 2022 for $360 million. Quixote attributed the decision to difficult industry conditions, according to the same report.
City Council Wants Answers on the Fuller Avenue Site
West Hollywood staff are expected to recommend ways to preserve The Lot and similar businesses. The city is considering how to keep production spaces in use.
West Hollywood is now seeking feedback from studio owners, workers, and nearby residents about keeping studio spaces in use, and the city is inviting residents to submit their views through its Engage WeHo platform. The push comes as local advocates argue that permit costs and red tape are pushing productions elsewhere.
A TV Writer's Push for Easier Permits
Helen Krieger, a television writer who wants to bring more film and TV work to West Hollywood, held a town hall called “Film Here, Work Here” at the Lot in July to rally support for keeping production local.
Her comparison points to real policy differences nearby. Culver City waived its per-application motion and still photography fees this year, a change the Beverly Press & Park Labrea News reported saves productions $660 per permit. The city also waived daily use fees of $350 for motion permits and $75 for still photography permits, and for a typical three-day shoot, the changes cut administration fees by $1,700, or nearly 60%. Culver City introduced the incentive program on Dec. 1, 2025, and it runs through the end of 2026.
Los Angeles has been moving in a similar direction. The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted on October 27 to establish a free micro-shoot permit for productions with 10 or fewer people on site, and it also advanced a study of cutting filming fees at qualified city facilities down to $1 or the legally required minimum, per NBC Los Angeles.
Production Numbers Still Sliding
The policy scramble comes as on-location filming across the region remains soft. FilmLA reported 4,171 on-location shoot days in greater Los Angeles for the three months ending September 30, down 4.8% from the same period a year earlier, the Times reported. Television shoot days in that period totaled 1,400, a drop of nearly 53% compared with the category's five-year average, though about 23% of those TV shoot days went to projects receiving incentives, up from roughly 9% a year earlier.
Estimates of how far the quarter lagged behind historical norms vary by source. NBC Los Angeles put overall third-quarter filming roughly 38.5% below the five-year average for that quarter, while the Times reported on-location shoot days were nearly 29% below the five-year average. FilmLA's shoot-day counts exclude any production that happens on certified soundstages, meaning the figures do not capture everything happening inside facilities like the one Quixote is vacating.
The Lot's Place in West Hollywood's Production Landscape
The Lot has historical associations and several sound stages.
The Lot is among the production businesses city staff hope to preserve as the industry contracts. With Quixote's Fuller Avenue stage going dark and regional production still running below prior-year levels, West Hollywood's next moves on studio policy are likely to be watched closely by operators weighing whether to stay, expand, or follow Quixote out of town.
