Yes, Lansing has been relatively fortunate despite the economic storm that has been sweeping this state for decades. Many people don't realize it, but manufacturing (as of 2000) made up less of our economy than Grand Rapids, for example, which many folks don't seem to associate with manufacturing, anymore. And, as the state capital, even if we had been based more on manufacturing we'd have never ended up like say Saginaw or Flint.
That said, Lansing still hasn't yet fully realized how to market itself or use our status as state capital and higher education center to maximize our development potential. Unlike a Grand Rapids, we don't really have a blueprint to guide us forward. Everything seems to just happen with no rhyme or reason; a condo, here; a studio, there; and aninsurance headquarters, here; an office building, there.
Hello all! What I know about this project is this. Currently if Ahptic cant get hollywood movie companies to commit to future projects at the new studio, then they cant go to the bank with adequate funding for the project. If not then they have to explore the option of dealing with venture capitalists, which will severly impact the profits made by the venture. This will be the sticking point. Gillespie more than likely owns (or will own) the land but they need the funding for all of the bookends (technology, staging, equipment, employees etc) for this to work.
Could it happen by late 09? Yep. But there is competition in Muskegon, which is building a movie studio soon as well, so our area has to be able to market itself better than in-state competitors. All-in-all I believe that this will lead to an influx of tourism, which would lead to a lot of economic activity for the PSD and SD.
So I guess its gonna be a big deal, the Muskegon project check out this link from Rueters: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS105368+16-Jun-2008+PRN20080616
Here are some highlights
Watermark Studios will be the biggest, most complete film, video and
digital media facility in the Midwest, and one of the biggest in the
U.S. outside of California and New York
Watermark Studios' operations are fully diversified, reducing dependence
on any single sector. With complete production and post-production
services and mobile production units to outfit up to 4 location shoots
at once, Watermark Studios is set up to service the entertainment,
commercial, corporate, educational, religious, catering and banquet
hall, worker training and recruitment, business consulting and real
estate sectors.
They are simply talking their's up because the fact of the matter is that City Center Studios will be a total of 71,000 square feet, with twin, 24,000 square feet studios. Watermark is to have three, but the biggest one is only going to be 17,000 square feet.
There is room in the market for multiple studios in Michigan. Plus the City Center project is even more diversified. Modern Cine out of NY is the production company behind Watermark and they only have indie film experience.
First thing that came to mind: costume shop. I got a good laugh out of that. I think that we might see more demand for hotels and increased demand for restaurants. East Lansing already has something similar to this with the Wharton Center. Tonight is the opening night of Wicked, and there is a lot of people in the cast and crew that need places to stay for until the second week of August. Add to that everything that they consume, and there will be increased demand.
If the studios were to land something like a game show, we may see increased tourism from people in the lower half of Michigan.
Comments
That said, Lansing still hasn't yet fully realized how to market itself or use our status as state capital and higher education center to maximize our development potential. Unlike a Grand Rapids, we don't really have a blueprint to guide us forward. Everything seems to just happen with no rhyme or reason; a condo, here; a studio, there; and aninsurance headquarters, here; an office building, there.
Could it happen by late 09? Yep. But there is competition in Muskegon, which is building a movie studio soon as well, so our area has to be able to market itself better than in-state competitors. All-in-all I believe that this will lead to an influx of tourism, which would lead to a lot of economic activity for the PSD and SD.
The studio being proposed in Muskegon is much, much smaller than the studio being proposed here.
Here are some highlights
Watermark Studios will be the biggest, most complete film, video and
digital media facility in the Midwest, and one of the biggest in the
U.S. outside of California and New York
Watermark Studios' operations are fully diversified, reducing dependence
on any single sector. With complete production and post-production
services and mobile production units to outfit up to 4 location shoots
at once, Watermark Studios is set up to service the entertainment,
commercial, corporate, educational, religious, catering and banquet
hall, worker training and recruitment, business consulting and real
estate sectors.
If the studios were to land something like a game show, we may see increased tourism from people in the lower half of Michigan.