The operations that NBC Universal plans to move to the new Universal City news and production facility are NBC News' Los Angeles bureau, KNBC, KVEA and the “Access Hollywood” TV show. Pending approvals, the company expects to begin moving those operations to the new Universal City facilities by 2011.

Tom Smith, SVP of West Coast Real Estate for NBC Universal, notes that the new facility that will house the NBC news operations is being designed as the anchor tenant of the proposed Thomas Properties Group development at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Red Line Subway Station in Universal City. As reported on GlobeSt.com in December, the plan is designed to “create a blueprint for Universal City for the next 25 years” that will add studio facilities, refresh its theme park and create a new residential neighborhood on a portion of the property.

The proposed Thomas Properties Group development at the Red Line Subway Station is located directly across the street from Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and the CityWalk retail development. Smith says that the decision to consolidate operations at the Universal City site is based on “strategic and synergistic opportunities in bringing our production facilities and talent together” at the site.

Among the reasons behind the move is the Universal City MTA Red Line Subway Station's location, which was a key deciding factor in the company's decision to move the NBC Universal facility to Los Angeles. Locating the new facility to a site near an existing subway and bus station will allow visitors, guests and employees to take public transit and “significantly reduce their car-related commuting emissions and stress,” NBC Universal says.

The new project is in the environmental review process and is slated for public hearings in 2008. Thomas Properties and Rios Clementi Hale Studios serve as advisers to NBC Universal on the blueprint, which Universal calls its “Vision Plan.”