The state-of-the-art Lionsgate Studios Yonkers, which opened earlier this year in downtown Yonkers, is now the beneficiary of a $230 million refinancing loan, which will allow the borrower to repay the construction loan on phase one of a film studio that could be one of the biggest studios ever built in the Northeast.
JLL Capital Markets announced on behalf of the borrower, National Resources— a Connecticut-based developer and one of the largest private owners of Hudson River waterfront real estate in the New York metro region — that the owner will use the financing to repay the $29.3 million construction loan provided by Sterling National Bank for the development’s first phase, as well as to build the project’s latest component.
The transaction indicates that this is a five-year, fully extended loan.
Phase one of the 500,000-square-foot facility opened in January 2022, coinciding with an announcement from Great Point Capital Management that it planned a $500 million expansion that will position the facility as the largest modern-built film and television production campus in the Northeast. The facility which is located at 28 Wells Ave., on the Hudson River in downtown Yonkers, is surrounded by multiple retail, dining and entertainment establishments, and within walking distance of the new Saw Mill River Plaza and Yonkers’ new Metro-North Railroad station.
The builder and manager of the $500 million campus is Great Point Studios, an investment and development group led by Hallmark Channel founder Robert Halmi and media investment banker Fehmi Zeko.
When completed, the 1-million-square-foot development will have more 20,000-square-foot stages on one campus than any other facility in the Northeast. It will have 11 soundstages: eight 20,000-square-foot stages, two 10,000-square-foot stages and a 30,000-square-foot stage. It will also include parking for more than 750 cars and 100 trucks.
While the full campus is expected to be complete by December 2023, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano expects more film industry announcements coming into Yonkers this year.
“From a handful of production days in 2012 to over 200 in 2021, Yonkers is giving Hollywood a run for its money,” said Spano, the three-term mayor.
The unveiling of the studio was initially planned for fall of 2020 but COVID affected construction and its public opening, Spano told the Bronx Times in January.
Today, the property includes three sound stages, dozens of dressing rooms and makeup stations, dedicated office space for writers and administrative staff, set design and construction facilities, screening rooms, dining areas and hundreds of parking spaces.
The Starz comedy series “Run the World,” a television comedy anchored by Black women leads, is the first show filmed on-site.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes.
