It’s Hollywood on the Hudson.
A group of New York City’s big-moneyed investors have joined forces to build a $350 million production-studio complex — Manhattan’s first ever — on a dilapidated pier jutting out into the Hudson River, according to a report.
Investment giant Blackstone, Hudson Pacific Properties and Vornado Realty Trust will build the 266,000-square-foot campus on Pier 94 in Hell’s Kitchen near the cruise terminal, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Dubbed “Sunset Pier 94 Studios,” the new project will include other public amenities integrated into the Greenway bike and park trail along the Hudson. Groundbreaking will commence later this year.
“We’ll raise the bar for one of New York City’s signature industries and breathe new life into a key waterfront site,” Vornado president Michael Franco told The Journal.
Currently, New York City is the second-largest studio site in the US after Los Angeles.
It is home to Queens-based production studios such as Kaufman Astoria Studios, where “Goodfellas” and “Sesame Street” were filmed, and Silvercup Studios, where “Sex and the City” and “The Sopranos” episodes were shot.
The development of another production studio, which will not be affiliated with any entertainment giant, signals a wager by the consortium that the expanding field of streaming services will need more space in their bid to create new content.
New York is “highly supply constrained in terms of stages,” said Victor Coleman, CEO of Hudson Pacific, a studio owner and operator in LA.
Under the contract, Vornado will contribute its long-term lease of Pier 94 and will own a 49.9% stake in the venture.
Blackstone will own a 24.5% stake in Sunset Pier 94 while Hudson Pacific will own a 25.6% stake in the project.
According to The Journal, the venture has been planning the project with city agencies for more than two years.
New York City and the state of New York have various programs and tax benefits geared at growing New York’s film-and-TV-production business.
The investment in a new studio comes amid an ongoing labor strike that has shut down Hollywood.
Hudson Pacific reported that production in LA slowed sharply in the second quarter, when shoot days fell 60% to 70% for comedies and dramas, and 20% to 25% for film, unscripted TV, commercials and photo shoots, compared with the second quarter last year, The Journal said.
There has also been a pullback in streaming consumption from the height of the pandemic when consumers were under COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions.
Another hurdle is the potential consolidation of the streaming market, but studio operators appear to be unfazed.
“Even if consolidation happens, [streaming services] all know that they have to invest in original content production,” said Jeff Stotland, executive vice president of Hudson Pacific, on an earnings call earlier this month. “And hopefully, obviously, we’ll benefit.”
