DISNEY BRINGING ABC OUT WEST; NEW YORK STAFFERS MOVING TO STUDIO LOT.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

The Walt Disney Co. plans to beef up the presence of its ABC operations on the West Coast by giving the network a prime location on its studio lot within two years.

Disney's plans, disclosed Tuesday, call for ABC to occupy most of a 10-story building just north of the Ventura Freeway by mid-2000. The ``modern classic'' structure will sit next to the entertainment giant's feature animation headquarters, the whimsical building fronted by a 50-foot version of the blue-and-white sorcerer's hat worn by Mickey Mouse in ``Fantasia.''

Between 300 and 400 ABC employees will move from the network's New York headquarters to the new building, an ABC spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. The entertainment giant recently began construction on the site, now a parking lot for the animation building.

The plans to move part of ABC's operations were contained in an internal memo issued this week by ABC Inc. President Robert Iger and reported in Tuesday's Hollywood Reporter. Iger has been working in both Los Angeles and New York.

The memo said ABC corporate headquarters will remain in New York and that senior staff members would have offices in both locations. It did not detail which departments would move.

ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover said the new building also will house the ABC Entertainment executive offices now in Century City and headquarters for Stuart Bloomberg, Jamie Tarses and the network's standards and practices department.

The move will transfer about 10 percent of ABC's work force in New York as part of an effort to give the network a higher West Coast profile. Speculation that Disney would take such a step began emerging three years ago when it announced its $19 billion buyout of Capital Cities/ABC.

Disney obtained approval from the city of Burbank in 1992 for the project as part of its master plan for expansion, contingent on the building remaining consistent with the plan, according to the city's Planning Department. It had not previously announced what operations would be housed in the new building.

The structure will contain 390,000 square feet of office space and was designed by Aldo Rossi, a prominent architect who died last year. Those plans called for colors and design consistent with the art-deco theme of most buildings on the lot.

STOCK UP

Disney shares closed at 109 3/4, up 1 on Tuesday.