Villa Muse, a production company led by Jay Aaron Podolnick, has announced plans to build a $125 million 200-acre film and television production studio in East Austin, Texas. The facility will anchor a $1.5 billion 681-acre mixed-use development that will also include residential, retail and commercial spaces, according to the developers.
Phase One, to be open by the end of 2008, will feature several soundstages, including what the company claims will be the largest purpose-built soundstage in North America (50,000 square feet), as well as a scoring stage, recording studios and an outdoor amphitheater with a capacity of over 70,000 people. When finished, the facilities will provide production services for film, television, commercials, music and videogames.
Villa Muse executives predict the overall project will generate approximately 8,000 new jobs upon completion and will make capacity available for 8,500 residents. The residential community--which could serve as a backlot for filming--will orbit the studio campus, and will be built in an array of styles to meet a variety of production needs. The facility will be located just off of the SH130 corridor, 15 minutes east of downtown Austin.
Villa Muse has secured phase one funding and, in partnership with Carpenter & Associates, a real estate development, brokerage and investment firm, has secured the land for the project.
"Villa Muse will address the needs of our thriving creative industries in Texas, while attracting business that has been out of reach and forced to go elsewhere," said Jay Aaron Podolnick, founder and CEO. "Meanwhile, Villa Muse will give Texas a centralized location where creative talent can come together to cross-pollinate and communicate in a uniquely innovative environment. And true to its name, it will be a place to live, work and be inspired."
Podolnick helped launch the Austin music scene in 1972 when he opened the first 24-track recording facility in Texas. The Villa Muse team also includes Rupert Neve, Tom Copeland, Bob Walters and Paul Alvarado-Dykstra.
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