Vancouver: The worst-kept secret in Vancouver production circles is now official.

The British Columbia government will provide a $20-million commercial loan to expand and enhance Vancouver Film Studios – a Grandview Highway (at Boundary Road) facility that has operated for about 10 years in renovated warehouse space. Recent projects include the feature Excess Baggage and the new series Secret Agent Man.

The new $70-million development project – comprising $20 million from the provincial government, $20 million from the studio’s parent company The McLean Group, and $30 million in other first mortgages – will eventually include 10 soundstages.

The plan calls for renovation of the four existing stages – ranging in size from 13,500 square feet to 32,000 square feet – and the creation of six new purpose-built stages. The new stages – four at 15,000 square feet and two at 18,000 square feet – are convertible to larger spaces. Construction begins later this month.

According to Sacha McLean, vp and gm of Vancouver Film Studios, there will also be substantial production and support space that will, when added to the new soundstages, make Vancouver Film Studios larger than both The Bridge Studios and Lions Gate Studios.

The 28-acre Vancouver Film Studios site will also be formally closed off and look, in exterior design, much like Lions Gate Studios in North Vancouver.

‘There is a lot of demand,’ says McLean. ‘Our existing facilities are well used and if we are to grow properly, we need more state-of-the-art facilities.’

In a two-page release, which quotes four provincial cabinet ministers including Premier Glen Clark, Minister of Culture Ian Waddell says: ‘Our film and television industry is expected to double in the next 10 years. It is now tremendously important that we continue to see investments in studio space and other infrastructure to make sure this growth happens and continues into the future.’

The new studio project – the first of several announcements, including an expected investment in a new Vidatron (now Peace Arch) Entertainment studio project – is expected to create 500 construction jobs and ultimately support 3,500 direct and indirect film jobs.