A much-anticipated launch on one coast and a significant acquisition on the other highlight the latest major developments on the industry studios and stages scene. The latter involves the investment group Studio City Los Angeles finalizing its purchase of the historic Culver Studios, Culver City, Calif., from Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The partners in the group that recently made the $125 million buy include Lehman Bros., New York; Pacific Coast Capital Partners, El Segundo, Calif.; and Pacifica Ventures, a 20-year-old El Segundo investment firm that will be the lead company in terms of day-to-day management of the property.
Among the features that have been filmed at least in part on the Culver Studios lot over the years are Gone with the Wind, King Kong, E.T. and Air Force One. Ron Lynch, principal/managing director of Pacifica, serves as president of Culver Studios.
Lynch says that about 65 percent of the complex’s production days are booked by feature films, 25 percent by TV shows and 10 percent by other projects, including commercials, music rehearsals and still photo shoots. He is particularly interested in developing the commercial business, as spot production firms are largely based nearby on Los Angeles’ Westside, and the additional revenue would help smooth out the cyclical nature of feature and TV production.
Steiner Development
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, it’s been years in the making and now, finally, a new production facility is about to open its doors in New York’s centuries-old Brooklyn Navy Yard. The historic and gated site, located just over the Brooklyn Bridge between the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Fort Greene, occupies 300 acres of prime New York City real estate and has long been touted as the answer to the shortage of stage and studio space in the Big Apple.
Initially, the development project was spearheaded by New York Studios, then by Miramax Films, New York, and Tribeca Productions, New York—the production company owned by actor Robert De Niro. However, it was real estate development company Steiner Equities that emerged victorious in its bid to revamp a portion of the site into a state-of-the-art studio complex.
The Roseland, N.J.-based company ultimately secured a 70-year lease on 15 acres of the much sought-after real estate from the City of New York back in October 1999, and has since been working on making Steiner Studios into a reality.
"The Steiners got involved in the project about five years ago, maybe even a little longer than that," relates Jay Fine, president/CEO of Steiner Studios. "The city was looking for a company that had a reputation for building and development, and Steiner was in the market for special purpose real estate, something that would be unique. I guess the timing was just right. Since then, it’s been a long process but everything always seems to take a long time in real estate. Luckily the years have passed quickly. Last July we began putting up walls for the Steiner Studios, and this July we’re having our soft opening with a grand opening that’s tentatively scheduled to take place in October."
The Studio
Once completed, the complex will feature a 280,000-square-foot studio building with 100,000 square feet of stages. "It is a true movie and television lot," says Fine. "It is a secure, flexible space that, we’re being told, is some of the best studio space in the United States."
That space includes five soundstages ranging in size from 16,200 feet (35 feet to the bottom of the grid) to 27,000 square feet (45 feet to the bottom of the grid)—each versatile enough to accommodate productions of just about any size.
"This is all new construction," Fine notes. "It’s all column-free space complete with wood grids and catwalk systems like the stages in Los Angeles. The stages also have interconnecting elephant doors—these are massive twenty-by-twenty-eight-foot openings—so more than one stage can be used at a time.
"We’ve allotted thirty-thousand square feet to production office space that’s located on the same level as the stages and offers direct access to them," he continues. "The support space, meaning the dressing rooms, wardrobes, makeup and green rooms, are all located on the second floor. There are also three studio lobbies and three elevators to get people up and down to the support space and to their offices."
Efficiency and ease of movement are big parts of the new complex. "What we tried to do is make it simple and efficient for people to move around in this facility because the longer it takes to get a shoot done, the more expensive it can get," Fine explains. "Even the parking lots and roads are on the same level as the stages so things can be moved around easily and loading can be accomplished from both the east and west sides of the building."
Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, sees Steiner Studios as a great addition to the city’s already existing production facilities, namely Silvercup Studios, Long Island City, N.Y.; Kaufman-Astoria, Astoria, N.Y.; and New York’s Chelsea Piers. "Steiner Studios really addresses what we have been hearing anecdotally from the industry regarding what they need and want in New York in terms of production space," Oliver remarks. "Its grid heights, with thirty-five-by-forty-foot ceilings, and its large spaces make the complex not only unique but also purposeful and highly adaptable. It’s the type of facility that did not exist here. The other facilities offer different dimensions and different services but Steiner will, hopefully, be able to attract bigger film and TV projects because of its amazing flexibility."
Oliver expects the new complex to have a good effect on its surrounding area. "We’re already seeing lots of evidence of how its presence is transforming the neighborhood around it in a positive way," she says. "It attracts new residents, breathes new life into local businesses and creates jobs. At the end of the day, that’s exactly what you hope for. Steiner Studios will give new opportunities to the people of New York City and we’re excited about that." Oliver adds that she and her office plan to work very closely with Steiner on trying to get borough-wide training programs off the ground to facilitate hiring local residents for many of the newly created jobs at the complex.
When asked if Steiner has any anchor productions to announce, Fine reports that he and his colleagues are "in discussion with a number of companies about taking space. We should know shortly who will be occupying the stages," he states. "Right now, the biggest challenge is that we have more projects than we have stages, so there are a few decisions to be made in order to accommodate everyone who has expressed interest in us. We’re hoping to see film, TV and commercial producers utilizing the space in the coming months."
According to Fine, Steiner offers commercial productions unique advantages. "The stages have nine thousand/twelve thousand amps apiece and, as a result, are very efficient," he says. "It’s especially ideal for commercials that are on short timelines."
The complex also includes a back lot that offers incredible views of the city skyline, which has recently played host to the movie Spider-Man 2 and the TV show Law & Order. "It’s a great place to shoot interiors and then maybe even do some exteriors within the yard," Fine points out.
Going forward, Fine says that if the Navy Yard production venue is as successful as he believes it will be, then it could translate to expansion plans. "We’ve been looking at what we could do down the road. The Navy Yard itself is about three-hundred acres—that includes some of the water, of course, but it is a gigantic place when you think about the density of New York City," he notes. "Ultimately, this will be a full-service operation where we can deliver a great production space and make people feel good about working here."
