Construction cranes are once again part of the low-slung Culver City skyline, as steel beams rise for a new office building at Sony Picture Studios. The project, which first emerged last year, is located on a former surface parking lot near the studio complex’s Overland Avenue gate. According to a notice distributed by the Culver City Planning Commission, plans call for an eight-story building featuring 218,000 square feet of office and support space. The mid-rise structure will reportedly house staff members from the studio’s Home Entertainment division, which is currently based out of a nearby office building known as Sony Pictures Plaza. The office tower is the largest component in a wave of capital improvements that has swept through the Sony Pictures complex during the past year. Various projects is currently remaking the Culver Boulevard side of the studio include a 52,000-square-foot production support facility and a recently completed expansion of the campus’ Culver Boulevard parking garage.