Plan to Build Film Studio on Manhattan’s Pier 94 Backed by Blackstone, Hudson Pacific
The real estate firm behind a plan for a 266,000-square-foot film and TV studio located in Manhattan has unveiled a deal with operator Hudson Pacific and financial backer Blackstone to build on the Pier 94 location on the Hudson River.
The project, now titled Sunset Pier 94 Studios, has been in the works for years from New York-based firm Vornado Realty Trust, which holds the lease to the land. The plan calls for six soundstages and 145,000 square feet of production support space and offices. Appearing aimed at addressing community concerns, the project also touted 25,000 square feet “of waterfront open space and pier access” along with public restroom facilities at the Hudson River Park.
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A $350 million investment will be made toward building the project, which is expected to break ground in the third quarter of this year for planned completion in 2025, the companies said Tuesday.
On Aug. 1, during an earnings call, Vornado’s CEO Steven Roth said the deal wasn’t quite done, but described the venture this way: “It will be the only studio on the island of Manhattan. So we’re extremely enthusiastic about it. Where we have half the deal, we came in with the land and Hudson Pacific is the operator and Blackstone is Hudson Pacific’s partner and now our partner.”
That deal is now formalized, with Vornado taking a 49.9 percent stake in the venture, Hudson Pacific getting a 25.6 percent stake and Blackstone snapping up a 24.5 percent stake. The public-private joint venture also has backing from New York Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “This project will bring critical, long-awaited investment to this public asset, turn an underutilized space into an economic driver, and improve public space and quality of life for New Yorkers,” Adams stated in the announcement.
Added Blackstone executive Nadeem Meghji, “Content creation is one of our key global investment themes, and we are thrilled to be part of this one-of-a-kind, public-private partnership.”
The move marks an expansion for Hudson Pacific, owner of Sunset Bronson Studios, a Hollywood stage that Netflix currently leases, among its 60-plus purpose-built stages. Manhattan “has an extensive, well-established production infrastructure yet is highly supply constrained in terms of stages,” stated Hudson Pacific CEO Victor Coleman, in unveiling the operator’s participation in the deal.
In recent years, amid a boom in content spending for film and TV shows on streaming platforms, Hollywood soundstages have become a popular bet for commercial real estate firms, especially as remote work has led to a rethink of office properties since the pandemic. For instance, Netflix, which leases the Icon, Epic and Cue buildings on the Sunset Bronson Studios lot in Los Angeles, pays $24.6 million in base rent annually, per a Hudson Pacific securities filing last September.
Over the summer, the dual actors and writers strikes have shut down activity on soundstage lots. “A strike of this magnitude, while rare and historically short-term, can be extremely impactful and far-reaching,” stated Coleman in an earnings release on Aug. 1. “We’re working diligently to mitigate its impact and to ensure our studio business is well positioned to capture the potential surge in production upon resolution.”
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