Vancouver: A new production studio complex was unveiled unofficially April 16 at a Vancouver City Council hearing into land-use planning for a 300-acre area called False Creek Flats.

The proposed studio is part of Trillium Corporation’s plans for the 18.5-acre industrial property directly north of the Pacific Central Terminal, where passengers board via trains and Greyhound buses.

Phil Levine, a partner in IBI Group of Vancouver, which is handling planning for the Bellingham, Washington-based developer, says the site could be home to one 30,000-square-foot soundstage, and two 15,000-square-foot soundstages. It may also include 500 live-work spaces (for artists, for example), a parkade, industrial workshops, and commercial space designed with film-industry suppliers in mind.

While the property’s zoning allows for studios today, the overall planning requires rezoning approvals from city council, community support and agreements with investment and operations partners before it will go ahead.

Barring obstacles, the studio could begin construction within a year, says Levine. No cost is attached to the proposed studio.

Official presentation of the proposed studio will take place in a couple of months.

The studio is being championed by Vancouver film producers Chris Brough of Mainframe Entertainment (ReBoot) and Colleen Nystedt, president of New City Productions and a former city planner.

Nystedt says the proposed studio will cater primarily to local producers, and secondly to so-called runaway production from the u.s. ‘There is nowhere else in the city for us to work, so we’ve got to create our own,’ says Nystedt, adding that New City is positioned to manage the proposed complex.

The size of the proposed private-sector studios on False Creek Flats means the complex would compete with the government-owned and operated Bridge Studios in Burnaby, which is considering expansion itself to meet the increasing demand for studio space from service productions.

The provincial government is in initial discussions about constructing another taxpayer-subsidized studio complex on the vacant lot next to The Bridge Studios.

There may be enough work for everyone, though. The smaller soundstages at North Shore Studios in North Vancouver are also booked, and expansion there isn’t possible. Vidatron Group is still going ahead with its plans to convert existing warehouse and office space in downtown Vancouver into small-scale studio space.