Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

This article discusses real estate developer Jim Thomas’s latest sizable project, an addition to Universal City. It also provides biographical details on Thomas and gives quotations on his work style from colleagues in the real estate field.

The Universal City project, which is expected to cost $3 billion, will be spearheaded by Thomas Properties Group. It will include two large office buildings, film production facilities, stories, around 3,000 residences, and more. Thomas himself will work to build support for the project. The project will employ smart growth methods (to ameliorate its impact on surrounding areas) as well as green building methods.

The article includes comments on the project or on Thomas from Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Universal Studios president Ron Meyer; Stan Ross, chairman of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at USC; Ned Fox, president of Vantage Investment Properties; real estate broker John Cushman; and architect Martha Welborne.

The article states, “Thomas’s 10-year-old company has almost 11 million square feet of properties and more than 5 million square feet in the development pipeline.“

For additional information, see:

Vincent, Roger, and Amanda Covarrubias. “A cast of thousands of homes: a residential and office complex is planned for Universal Studios lot.” Los Angeles Times December 7, 2006: A1.

“NBC Universal Announces Major Commitment To Los Angeles: Creating New Vision For Universal City.” March 22, 2006. Thomas Properties Group, Inc. http://www.tpgre.com/news/nbc_universal_03_22_2006.htm