SAG-AFTRA is preparing a major move.
The Artists’ Union has purchased an office building at 12020 Chandler Blvd. in North Hollywood for $46.6 million to serve as the new national headquarters, SAG-AFTRA announced this on Tuesday. The union currently leases space in a building on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile neighborhood and is currently the only major entertainment union to lease rather than own its headquarters. The union’s lease for the Wilshire Boulevard Building currently runs through 2032.
When it moves from its current headquarters, the union will have use of 118,000 square feet of office space and an unused 0.71 acre lot nearby. (THR has asked the union for a move-in date.) The building is fully leased, with major tenants including non-fiction producer Pilgrim Media Group (Bad tuna, street bandits) and research and analytics company Screen Engine/ASI.
Arlene Sommer of Cushman & Wakefield represented SAG-AFTRA in the transaction with existing building owner Dr. David Lee of Jamison Properties.
In a statement, Union President Fran Drescher said that in discussions with SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and CFO Arianna Ozzanto, “it was determined that SAG-AFTRA was now in a financially sound position to pursue this goal.” Drescher called the move to buy a new headquarters a “joint effort” with the search for the new building led by the union’s national secretary-treasurer Joely Fisher.
“This is a historic milestone for our union and a testament to our strength and resilience,” Crabtree-Ireland said in its own statement. “The new building will give us more space, better facilities and more opportunities to serve our members and advance our mission. By owning instead of renting, we will save money in the long run, build equity and have more flexibility and stability.”
SAG-AFTRA first moved into its current Miracle Mile headquarters in 1993. The issue of SAG-AFTRA renting the headquarters surfaced during the union’s last election in 2021, with one faction speaking out against the union who paid “$6 million a year” in rent for its headquarters.
Thanks to SAG-AFTRA
