As smart-ass college kids who were liberal arts majors, we’d joke with each other about career choices. Invariably our prospective occupations would benefit society in some tangible fashion. And more than once, I’d hear a colleague joke—and I’m paraphrasing, "It doesn’t matter how much money I make. I want to do something that will help people, something that will make the world a better place. That’s why I’ve decided to get into real estate."
But, in a very real sense, that particular choice of livelihood when properly harnessed has the power to help breathe life into a community—defusing what in retrospect was our feeble post-adolescent attempt to graduate from Sarcasm 101. The latest potential case in point involves an ambitious development, Studio City New York (SCNY), located on the square block between 44th and 45th streets and 10th and 11th avenues.
A group of investors including the PB Group, Hines, Pacifica Ventures and Lehman Bros, has committed some $375 million to develop and construct what’s billed as a full-service, 700,000-square-foot, 15-story studio complex in the heart of Manhattan. Groundbreaking is slated to happen by year’s end. Construction is estimated to take about two years.
With a planned 70,000 square feet of stages—including seven stages ranging in size from 4,000 to 30,000 square feet—SCNY could be up and running by the end of 2004. Space within the complex has been set aside to serve as "a backlot" for location shooting and exterior shots.
Richard Benowitz, managing principal for the PB Group and the concept creator of SCNY, described the complex as a vertical creative community, with resources to facilitate project development, pre-pro, production and postproduction. The building will have a sophisticated infrastructure of digital broadband technology. It’s projected that SCNY will have 400,000 square feet of permanent office space. Also available will be "flex space," designed to accommodate the short-term needs of the production community—including commercialmakers—when working on projects.
The hope is that SCNY will help boost the film, TV and spot production business in New York. And just the idea of a major facility in New York being constructed in the post-9/11 era should be a source of excitement and enthusiasm. Patricia Scott, commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, is among the industry players heralding SCNY as a significant part of the Big Apple’s rebuilding and expansion in the business sector.
SCNY organizers claim their project will become a reality because they actually own the land and the necessary funding is falling into place. Announcements heralding major stage and studio developments are understandably greeted with a healthy dose of skepticism at this juncture. Planned New York stage complexes with high-profile backers have for a variety of reasons generally fallen by the wayside in recent years. Grandiose announcements have frequently proven to be little more than a call to raise funds—and when those funds don’t materialize, the grand plans evaporate.
Yet despite industry folk justifiably having a complex about Big Apple complexes, hope springs eternal. So a number of people seem more than willing to give SCNY the benefit of any doubt.
"Any buildup in the production infrastructure and capacity to serve producers is welcome," stated Matt Miller, president/ CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers. "It’s good for business, good for the economy and good for New York."
