Steiner Studios To Build New 500K SF Sunset Park Film Production Facility
Sunset Park is about to get a new film production facility.
Brooklyn Navy Yard-based studio builder Steiner Studios has been selected by the city to build the new project, which will span 500K SF and is specifically aimed at bringing diversity to the New York City film industry, the New York City Economic Development Corp. announced Thursday.
“As we continue to focus on our economic recovery and building a more equitable New York, private sector partnerships like these will play a critical role,” NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett said in the release.
The facility will be built on EDC’s Made In New York campus at Bush Terminal, a location focused on cultivating the city’s film and television production scene and its garment manufacturing sector, intending to create more jobs in those fields. The city put out the call for developers two years ago.
The proposed project is set to include eight soundstages, a parking facility and the renovations of two existing buildings. Construction of the project will create up to 1,800 construction jobs, 25% of which will come from women and minority-owned businesses, according to NYCEDC. After it is complete, it is expected to generate 2,200 film and television-related jobs.
“TV production is a thriving industry in New York, and this project helps jumpstart the city’s economic recovery and growth,” Steiner Studios Chairman Doug Steiner said.
Steiner will also invest $50K a year in Made In New York job-training assistantships and $250K over the next decade for nonprofits that support diversity and inclusion in film and television. He will also create a $50K program to train high schoolers in production and provide an additional $25K a year going forward.
Steiner Studios, which inked a 49-year ground lease agreement for the space, according to the Wall Street Journal, will also build a playground at the Bush Terminal Piers Park and pay $25K a year to operate it.
With streaming services booming, real estate companies have been investing in film production-related property. Blackstone Group has made film studios a key focus of growth after a deal to acquire a stake in a company set to acquire three film production facilities in California.
