It looks like New York is shaping up to be the next Hollywood. Yesterday, Samson Stages announced its plans to open film studios and soundstages in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The film production company has tapped architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design the 300,000-square-foot venue, located at 744 Clinton Street.
This isn’t BIG’s first go at a television studio project. The firm revealed visuals in 2021 for a location it is working on for Wildflower Studios, an endeavor owned by actor Robert De Niro. The seven-story “vertical village” in Astoria, Queens is slated to open this year.
As for the Red Hook development, it too will be a “vertical village” rising up from the current waterfront site of Sunshine Lighting. The building’s vertical massing will be formed by the stacking of eight stages. In addition to production studios and stages, where projects ranging from 30 second advertisements to music videos to feature films will be shot, the project will also create new park space on the waterfront.
“This project is truly transformational, and I am excited to highlight the renderings and begin construction on the brand new soundstages and studios. The new addition to Samson Stages will create jobs, will give the neighborhood a new waterfront park, and will continue to make New York the center of TV and film production,” said Cofounder and CEO of Samson Stages Sam Geiger in a press release.
In addition to the park, the other public-facing operation on the site is a cafe. Renderings of the planned redevelopment show the tiered structure faced with a wood slatted facade, with plantings and vegetation interspersed throughout, as well as a sprawling lawn that extends outward from the building. The site will be surrounded by water where visitors can kick back or, as depicted in the renderings, kayak. Parking will be located within the structure.
“New York has become a leader when it comes to the TV and movie scene. To put it simply: the expansion of Samson Stages is the right project at the right time,” Cofounder of Samson Stages and Principal at Vanta Developers Charles Sobel said.
Samson Stages owns other production venues nearby on Hicks Street and in Sunset Park, where an array of projects have been filmed and produced, including a few that have starred big names in entertainment such as Ryan Reynolds and Bruce Springsteen.
A construction timeline for the project has not yet been announced.
