Montreal: Mels Cite du Cinema president Mel Hoppenheim and partner Michel Trudel, president of film equipment rental firm Locations Michel Trudel, have announced plans to build a 66,000-square-foot studio complex in the industrial Technoparc in south central Montreal. Industry veteran Hoppenheim and Trudel are investing $24 million in the new complex, with no government assistance.

Construction on Mels Cite du Cinema/Technoparc starts April 26, with the studios ready for set construction July 15.

The new complex consists of an entirely soundproofed 36,000-square-foot soundstage (120 feet by 300 feet) with a 40-foot ceiling and silent air-conditioning. Hoppenheim says the soundstage ‘will probably be one of the biggest in the world.’

The Technoparc facility will house two other soundstages of 15,000 square feet, along with 28,000 square feet of set construction space; 28,000 square feet for makeup, dressing and costumes; and another 28,000 square feet for production offices. The 800,000-square-foot lot features a 300,000-square-foot back lot.

The investment includes $11 million in specialized equipment.

Hoppenheim and Trudel also manage the 115,000-square-foot Mels Cite du Cinema/Cite du Harve, and a third in-town location. The Cite du Harve location has two fully soundproofed 9,000-square-foot studios, a 14,000-square-foot studio and another at 6,000 square feet. The city location houses a 6,000-square-foot studio.

One of the first shoots confirmed for the new Technoparc studio is the Eddie Murphy sci-fi comedy movie Plato Nash. Hoppenheim says the producers will be able to start set construction, including a re-creation of the moon’s surface, by July 15. Filming is expected to start six to eight weeks later. The balance of the complex’s facilities will be completed by mid-August, he says.

Location and foreign coventure filming in Montreal is reaching unprecedented levels and there appears to be enough business to keep all studio operators busy.

Earlier this month, the Moli-Flex White Group announced it was investing $25.5 million in a 61,500-square-foot studio facility to be located on the former St-Hubert military air base.

Hoppenheim says all the major Canadian production centers will be extremely busy this summer. ‘Vancouver is exploding, Toronto is exploding, and finally, they [the studios] have found Montreal,’ he says.