LOS ANGELES-Lincoln Property Co. has acquired an historic media production campus for $24.5 million in the heart of Hollywood and plans to spend $5 million to renovate for new tenants.

The two-building, 100,000-square-foot campus was originally built by Eastman Kodak Co. as the country ushered in the age of sound movies in the late 1920s. It is located at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Las Palmas Ave.

The campus includes an historic two-story, 19,660-square-foot jewel box building fronting Santa Monica Blvd. That building features an open-air atrium courtyard and fountain, natural lighting and seating, conference rooms and a screening room with seating for 44 people.

In 1929, Eastman Kodak scientists working in that building developed the first motion picture film designed for making sound motion pictures. Decades later, the facility served as an unofficial clubhouse for cinematographers, and its screening room was constantly used for viewing dailies.

An adjacent 86,000-square-foot building constructed by Kodak in 1994 features executive office space, multiple screening rooms, post-production space and staging areas. Both buildings are currently vacant, and leasing efforts will begin immediately.

Lincoln's planned property improvements include upgrades to the large atrium and common areas in both buildings, as well as interior and exterior landscaping.

“Hollywood has experienced a tremendous resurgence and has captured the focus of the institutional real estate investment community, for good reason,” said a statement from David Binswanger, EVP at Lincoln Property Co. “The media district is particularly supply constrained, so we see great opportunity with this historic one-of-a-kind property located right in the middle of the action. We are excited to move forward with our series of upgrades, and bring new life to this fantastic campus.”

Rob Kane, VP at Lincoln Property, tells GlobeSt.com that Hollywood is a great value compared to the coastal market. “Saturation in coastal markets is helping to drive a migration into Hollywood, and we're seeing an influx of tenants as a result. Interestingly, there is more development happening in Hollywood than anywhere else in Los Angeles. Progressive city policies and the newly adopted Hollywood Community Plan will continue to spur growth in the area and help to attract additional tech and creative firms.”

Kane says significant international growth in the entertainment and media industry, particularly by China and India, would help to fuel Hollywood moving forward.

“Hollywood is the epicenter of the entertainment industry,” Kane says. “It has and will continue to have the largest concentration of entertainment firms in the world. These firms all see a need to have a presence in Hollywood.”

Kevin Shannon, vice chairman of CBRE, and Steve Algermissen of Colliers International brokered the transaction. “Hollywood is one of the hottest submarkets in Los Angeles. Many of the tenants with the strongest growth patterns have gravitated to creative office campus environments similar to the product Lincoln will offer with the renovated Kodak campus,” said a statement from Shannon.

As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, a $43.8 million mixed-use complex targeting senior citizens recently opened in Hollywood near Western Ave. and Garfield Place.