BURBANK, Calif. (AP) A $750 million makeover has begun at the historic NBC Studios lot, including plans for four 14-story office towers, its new owners announced.

The complex will be operated as an independent studio, filled with tenants making television and movie shows, according to Santa Monica, Calif.-based development company M. David Paul & Associates. That company completed its purchase of the complex late last year.

NBC Studios has been home to entertainment and news broadcasts since the 1950s, including “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson.

The biggest difference at the complex will be the new office space. Construction is under way on the first of the four towers, to be built over the next decade.

Demand for entertainment office space is rising in the Los Angeles area. One reason, according to Carl Muhlstein, a real estate broker who specializes in the entertainment industry, is the ratio of support staff to performers has increased dramatically in the past decade.

“The typical talk show starring one person, like ’Ellen,’ has 150 support staff,” Muhlstein said. “Jay Leno has 200.”

NBC continues to lease space on the lot until its new facilities are ready across from Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The network aims to start moving its operation in 2012.

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