BET Network Expanding, Moving to New Quarters in Burbank

The Black Entertainment Television network is expanding into new quarters in Burbank.

The network, now available in nearly 58 million households, has agreed to lease a 27,612-square-foot former medical lab and office building on San Fernando Boulevard.

The network’s 100-plus administrative and post-production staff members plan to relocate in December to the former Unilab Corp. office at 811 S. San Fernando Blvd. from its nearby facility at 2801 W. Olive Ave., according to BET’s future landlord, Crown Realty & Development.

Crown Realty bought the 19-year-old building more than a year ago from a local developer, with Unilab as its sole tenant, said Crown Realty Vice President Jim O’Neil.

The property is adjacent to Crown Realty’s other holdings in the neighborhood, including a recently completed Ralphs-anchored community shopping center, the former Hughes Market building and the 20.5-acre former Menasco Aerospace property that’s currently home to prop storage specialist Western Studio Service.

The network’s parent, Washington-based BET Holdings, last week announced the planned November launch of an ambitious Web site, https://www.BET.com, which it hopes will become the leading online destination for black Americans. Media and technology giants Microsoft, News Corp., USA Networks and Liberty will also participate in the venture.

The company, headed by Chief Executive Robert L. Johnson and partly owned by AT&T; unit Liberty Media Group, is also developing a series of made-for-TV movies, dubbed Arabesque Films, written, produced and directed by and starring black artists.

Although tenant demand in the Burbank area is slightly weaker than it was a year or two ago, the office vacancy rate remains at a historic low of 2%, and rents are close to historic peaks. The average asking rent in Burbank now exceeds $30 per square foot annually, according to a midyear survey by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.