Great Point Studios has opened their new Lionsgate Studios in Yonkers, New York, and there are many huge plans for the studio as a place for learning and filming—revolutionizing the film and television industry in a premier shooting location.
Hey, big spenders! Today, January 11, 2022, Great Point Studios have officially announced the opening of the Lionsgate Studios Yonkers. The company behind it all has also revealed their plans for a $500 million expansion plan that will help with filming and students as the collaboration involves Lionsgate, Mediapro and Syracuse University. The Great Points Studios Founder and CEO, Robert Halmi, said the new film and television production facility will be “hands-down the largest in the Northeast.”
The gigantic campus will be located about 11 miles from midtown Manhattan, right along the Hudson River. The location is ideal as it is about a 35-minute drive or a 25-minute train ride from midtown Manhattan. The train station is basically a few steps away from the studio. The old property was previously occupied by three Otis Elevator factory buildings, which were built around the early 1900s and so Halmi saw the opportunity to buy the property and create the new Lionsgate Studios. Halmi told Deadline that the initial opening was meant for 2020, but the pandemic has caused delays.
Despite the setbacks, the whole expansion of Lionsgate Studios is expected to be completed by next year as the plan is to have eleven sound stages: eight 20,000-square-foot stages, two 10,000-square-foot stages, and a gigantic, 30,000 square-foot stage. This would be the most 20,000-square-foot stages on one campus in the whole northeast. The parking is said to support more than 750 cars and 100 trucks.
Every part of the Lionsgate Studios and campus and each of its facilities are made with purpose—featuring state-of-the-art film stages, post-production facilities, screening rooms, office space and support space. Also, it is practically a self-sustaining environment with a full set of production services on site, including grip and electric, equipment, props, set building, restaurants, location catering, cleaning service, and security. There will also be 2.4 megawatts of solar power and an acre of green space, which will allow food to be grown on campus.
The partnership with S.S. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University will open new doors for students who will be offered hands-on experience in their filmmaking courses. Halmi explained, “We’re bringing in cinematographers and other professionals for one-week rotating seminars this spring… Students will learn how to work in grip, electric, wardrobe, catering, security and other departments. They’ll get to watch films being made and assist in making them.”
Currently, three of the large stages and 500,000 square feet of office and support space is open. The whole construction of every planned building is expected to be completed by December 2023. So far, the first show revealed to be filmed in the new Lionsgate Studios is Starz’s comedy series Run the World, which has just been renewed for a second season. The Yonkers mayor, Mike Spano is also excited about the project and has been dubbing the studio as “the Burbank of New York City.”
