Netflix Inc. is deepening the San Fernando Valley’s longtime status as the capital of the cartoon industry by starting an animation studio in Burbank. According to a CoStar report, the streaming giant has signed a 171,000-square-foot lease at Burbank Empire Center, located next to Hollywood Burbank Airport at 2300 W. Empire Ave. Life insurance company New York Life, which owns Burbank Empire Center, will benefit as Los Gatos-based Netflix takes on an estimated 150,000 square feet up front on the property, with plans to expand by 21,000 square feet later. Netflix will occupy the seven-story building’s ground floor plus square footage on floors three, six, and seven. Burbank Empire Center’s office building, with more than 351,300 square feet, is now 100 percent leased. Technically, this Netflix deal amounts to the largest office lease in metropolitan Los Angeles during this pandemic year, at a time when the office market has atrophied, according to CoStar. Since the earliest days of Walt Disney Co., Burbank has long been home to Hollywood’s animation industry. Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbara, Walter Lantz Productions, Ruby-Spears, Filmation and Film Roman are just some of the companies that created cartoons in the area in decades past. At a time when Hollywood’s live-action TV production has struggled to resume in the face of a pandemic, animation creation has ramped up. Netflix has enjoyed massive success airing both its original animated series and acquired content — such as anime from Japan and Korea — on its streaming platform. Animation house Titmouse Inc., which in February announced that it will assume 95,000 square feet at Media Center North on 2835 N. Naomi St. in Burbank, created “The Midnight Gospel” for Netflix. Netflix also leases space at neighboring Burbank Empire Center buildings at 2350 Empire Ave. and 2400 Empire Ave. At each address, Netflix occupies 33,000 square feet of space, according to CoStar data.