January 18, 2017 / Construction Drive 

The over 200,000-square-foot complex was expanded to inspire and support creativity and collaboration, and create a sustainable work environment for employees

McCormick Construction, a premier builder shaping the culture of buildings and businesses throughout the Western United States since 1914, announced the completion of Nickelodeon’s newly expanded West Coast facility in Burbank, California. The over 200,000-square-foot campus now includes a new 110,000-square-foot, five-story, state-of-the-art animation building; an expansive, redesigned courtyard; and a newly renovated 72,000-square-foot studio that first opened in Burbank in 1998. The campus is home to more than 700 Nickelodeon employees and 20 active show productions.

McCormick Construction’s scope of work included the construction of the core and shell of the animation building; the 151,000-square-foot, five-story, 450-stall parking structure; and a design-build media mesh system on the exterior of the building to display animation.

Nickelodeon’s animation building is targeting LEED Goldcertification, and incorporates a number of sustainable strategies, including reduced lighting power through efficient LED fixtures, lighting controls and use of daylighting. Priority was also placed on the use of healthy and environmentally friendly building materials, such as low-emitting flooring and paint and products with high recycled and regional content. McCormick Construction installed the necessary infrastructure to assist in Nickelodeon’s goal of obtaining LEED Gold certification.

“We are proud to be a part of bringing Nickelodeon’s idea to life,” said Michael McCormick, president and CEO of McCormick Construction. “The newly renovated campus will provide an optimal work environment to inspire Nickelodeon’s employees, while offering the necessary resources to support creativity, collaboration and employee health and wellness.”

The animation building was constructed using the design-assist delivery method, which enabled McCormick Construction to get involved in the project early on to improve constructability, reduce cost and time, and add value. To accomplish these goals, DLR recommended a ConXtech steel framing system – a customizable, modular, prefabricated structural building system – for the building. McCormick Construction assisted in validating the use of the ConXtech system for the project which included a detailed analysis of the overall benefits to the project, which included a shorter lead time on procurement of materials, minimized waste and on-site emissions, a reduced construction timeline and decreased field inspection costs. The exterior of the animation building was built to include architectural white cement, glass fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels and a high-performance window wall. The precast concrete parking garage is comprised of white cement with an aggregate finish, which mirrors the GFRC finish on the animation building.

Since Nickelodeon’s campus is located in the heart of Burbank, surrounded by tight urban constraints, McCormick Construction streamlined a number of processes which limited the amount of workers simultaneously present on-site, significantly reducing site congestion during the construction process.

Additional features of Nickelodeon’s newly expanded campus include the following:

Screening Room – Employees can gather in a new 88-seat screening room where old-world Hollywood meets contemporary design

Three Voice-Over Studios – A new state-of-the-art recording studio complements the two existing studios

Café – Hoek and Stimpson, Nickelodeon’s café located in the lobby of the new building, overlooks the courtyard and offers a place for employees to gather

Indoor/Outdoor Connection – Each floor has courtyard-facing break out areas and balconies

Health and Wellness – The project includes both a fitness room and a calming Zen garden

Music Room, Game Room, Arcade – Employees can play instruments such as drums, guitars and piano, or gather for games of pinball and air hockey

The McCormick Construction project management team members included Steve McKee, senior superintendent; Jeff DeLuca, assistant superintendent; Chris Allen, project engineer; and Isaac Ayala, project manager.

Additional project team members for the complex included DLR Group, executive architect, which led conceptual planning and building design, city entitlement approvals, construction drawings and construction administration for the core and shell of the project; STUDIOS Architecture, design architect for the new animation building, courtyard and all interiors; Environmental Contracting Corporation, which constructed the interior of the animation building; Brightworks Sustainability, which led the LEED Green Building certification process for the project, working with Nickelodeon and the design team to create a sustainable and healthy work environment; and Accord Interests, LLC, which developed the original and new buildings and will continue to own and manage the complex.

In addition to Nickelodeon’s West Coast facility, McCormick Construction’s recent creative office projects include Element LA, a 12-acre, 300,000-square-foot adaptive reuse campus in Santa Monica, which is fully leased to Riot Games; LINQ, an 80,000-square-foot campus in Redondo Beach, which is leasing space to two major technology clients; and Santa Monica Gateway, a 200,000-square-foot, Class-A creative office project, which is currently under construction in Santa Monica.

Click here to read the full release on Construction Drive.

Additionally, articles and mentions featuring the completion project can be found on:

• Bisnow LA 
• RENTV
• Commercial Property Executive
• Urbanize LA
• Green Building News
• California Builder & Engineer