Dive Brief:
- Turner Construction will build a 1.5-million-square-foot, 17-building film and television studio campus in Bayonne, New Jersey, for developer Togus Urban Renewal, according to a company press release.
- 1888 Studios, named after the year Thomas Edison invented the motion picture camera, is reportedly the country’s largest ground-up film studio with a price tag of $900 million, according to NJBIZ.
- Turner said it expects to begin construction during the first quarter of 2023, and the effort will employ more than 2,000 construction workers. Togus has said the project will employ 100% union labor, and anticipates a 2025 completion date, NJBIZ reported.
Dive Insight:
1888 Studios isn’t the only film and television studio under development in the region.
Robert De Niro’s Wildflower Studios in Astoria, Queens, in New York City recently spurred controversy for not employing all-union labor. And the 12-acre, 300,000-square-foot, $125 million Great Point Studios in Newark, New Jersey, is slated for completion in 2024.
Located on the southwest corner of Bergen Point on a waterfront plot of land that once housed a Texaco oil refinery, Turner said environmental sustainability and resiliency will be built into 1888 Studios. The site’s elevation will be increased to address potential flooding now and in the future, Turner said in its release.
“We are extremely excited to be part of the team that will transform this long underutilized waterfront site in Bayonne,” said Larry Boresen, vice president and general manager at Turner. “In addition to the positive economic benefit of the project for the community, I look forward to viewing the creative work that will be produced in these groundbreaking facilities.”
The studio will employ between 2,000 and 3,000 people on a full-time basis when complete, Turner said.
