QUEENS, N.Y.—East End Studios’ plan to develop a major media and content production studio, the Sunnyside Campus in Queens, has moved a step closer to reality with the announcement that Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC ("Canyon") and J.P. Morgan have provided a $193 million senior construction loan for the project.
Construction of the studio commenced with the loan closing and is expected to be completed by Q1 2025, the companies said.
New York City Industrial Development Agency provided tax incentives for the project.
East End Studios - Sunnyside Campus will be a 275,000 square foot Class-A facility featuring three best-in-class, full-service, ground floor sound stages spanning 75,000 square feet, the company said. The stages will have 37' clear heights and may be subdivided.
The project also houses a 15,000 square foot rooftop flex-stage, with 26' clear heights, that offers sweeping views of the Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan skylines and ample outdoor gathering space.
The stages are supported by 125,000 square feet of production, office, and mill spaces, 225 below-grade parking spaces, and eight enclosed loading bays at grade for full size trucks. Like all East End Studios' projects, the Sunnyside facility will be fully integrated with XR/VR infrastructure.
Positioned on a full city block between Queens Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway, and only a short walk to the 7-train and Long Island Railroad, the Sunnyside studio campus offers cast and crew members excellent public transportation options, as well as hyper-efficient vehicular and truck access, the developers said.
"New York City is one of the largest entertainment markets in the world, with significant unmet demand. Our Sunnyside Campus is going to meet that demand while establishing an elevated standard for modern studio workflows," said Jonathon Yormak, a founding partner at East End Studios.
The developers said that the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA), which supports business growth, relocation, and expansion across the five boroughs (of New York City) by lowering the cost of capital investment, provided valuable tax incentives for East End Studios – Sunnyside Campus. Sunil Aggarwal of Think Forward Financial consulted with East End Studios to facilitate the NYCIDA transaction.
"The development of the new East End Studios - Sunnyside Campus is going to be an economic boom for the film and TV industry and provide much-needed studio space in New York City which will result in hundreds of new, good paying jobs for New Yorkers," said New York City Economic Development Corporation president & CEO Andrew Kimball. "We are thankful to all our partners who are making the development of this state-of-the-art facility possible and helping drive a key industry in New York City."
"The new East End Studios - Sunnyside Campus will serve as an economic driver for local businesses and create jobs for New Yorkers, advancing our city's $82 billion film and TV industry, which makes up 6.5% of our total GDP," added Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Pat Swinney Kaufman. "Thanks to the expansion of the NYS Film Tax Credit, eligible TV productions are provided an incentive to relocate to NY, where new soundstages, like this one, can support future `Made in NY’ productions."
