Amazon Studios will lease 280,000 square feet of space at the historic Culver Studios, relocating and expanding from its current facilities in Santa Monica.

The 14-acre campus, located at 9336 Washington Boulevard in Culver City, was founded nearly a century ago by the filmmaker Thomas Ince, and has been the site of several notable films and television shows, including Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane.  Developer Hackman Capital Partners purchased the Culver Studios in 2014, and has since announced plans for a substantial expansion of the property's current leasable space.

Hackman is currently pursuing entitlements to add 413,000 square feet of production and office space to Culver Studios, including five new media buildings and two parking garages with space for nearly 2,000 vehicles.  If approved, the Gensler-designed project is expected to begin construction next year and be completed by 2020.

Amazon - which employs 700 people at its Santa Monica facility - is expected to begin moving by the end of 2018.  In addition to Amazon Studios, employees of IMDb, Amazon Video, and World Wide Advertising will also be relocating.