John Kalafatis to Construct the Largest Movie Soundstage in New York

 

York Studios, which currently has a 40,000-square-foot lot in Maspeth, New York, had a groundbreaking ceremony today in the Bronx, where it will construct a sprawling gated complex with several production areas and soundstages, including the biggest soundstage in the New York City area.

The $100 million studio construction on the currently vacant 10-acre lot in the Bronx, called the Michaelangelo Campus, will be built to accommodate the increasing expansion of film and TV productions in New York City.

CEO of York Studios John Kalafatis commented on the fact that the Soundview complex “marks the first ground-up construction of a state-of-the-art television and film production facility in the Bronx”, an area that has not up until this point seen much of the benefit of increasing production in New York.

In addition to speeches from representatives of Governor Cuomo’s and Mayor de Blasio’s office, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. spoke inspirationally about the renaissance and development the Bronx has been undergoing in the last decade, and his hope that in addition to providing employment and economic benefits in the area, the studio would showcase the Bronx in a new light.

He said, “York Studios’ new Michaelangelo Campus in Soundview not only expands our borough’s ability to host major movie and TV productions, [but] it reactivates a long-dormant site, creates new jobs and is another excellent example of the ongoing positive transformation that is taking place in communities all over the Bronx”.

Vice President of York Studio Operations John Battista agreed that this project will boost the Bronx’s image, stating “Most productions spend half a day on the stage, then pop out for exterior shots. The Bronx has great iconic locations and is diverse in its architectural structures and people.”

The project is expected to be completed in October 2018. York Studios’ Maspeth facilities have hosted projects from CBS’ “Elementary” series to the hit films “John Wick” with Keanu Reeves, and “Non-Stop” with Liam Neeson.

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