Ahead of cameras rolling at a proposed six-soundstage movie studio in Toronto, real estate developer Castlepoint Developments has ordered in dump trucks for demolition and environmental cleanup work.

Alfredo Romano, a principal at Castlepoint, on Tuesday said he and equity partner Pinewood Studios Group of Britain are still weighing the feasibility of constructing a high-tech movie studio in Toronto’s west end.

But as those discussions continue, Romano said he will shortly start demolition and soil remediation work on a 7.5-acre site he purchased in May 2007.

The land is already zoned for commercial/industrial use, so Castlepoint does not require rezoning or formal approval by the City of Toronto.

Even so, the developer held a community meeting on Tuesday to signal to local Toronto residents that demolition work is set to begin, and dump trucks will shortly begin to pass through their neighborhood.

What remains to be seen is whether the commercial redevelopment will include a megastudio, as Castlepoint and Pinewood have long planned. In 2004, the partners were edged out by Toronto Film Studios to build a studio complex on the city’s abandoned portlands.

Regrouping, Castlepoint and Pinewood last year formed a 50-50 partnership to build and open a movie studio on Sterling Road in Toronto, on the derelict site of the former Tower Motors factory.

Obstacles standing in the way of Castlepoint and Pinewood consummating their deal include the rising Canadian dollar, a dramatic drop in foreign location shooting in Ontario since 2002, and financing requirements.

Castlepoint officials point to escalating building costs at the rival Filmport studio development on the city’s waterfront that they are eager to avoid with their own development plans.

Romano indicated that, should Pinewood back out of the redevelopment, he will continue on his own with an eye to eventually renting out space to new media and music producers or graphic artists, for example.

‘If they [Pinewood] don’t come, my plan doesn’t change. I’m still going to bring in commercial businesses,’ he said.

Current studio plans on the drawing board call for two 20,000-square-foot soundstages, another two that are 15,000 square feet each, and two more that are 10,000 and 15,000 square feet in size, respectively.

The redevelopment will include a mix of around 140,000 square feet of existing building space that requires refurbishing, including a 10-storey building originally built in 1919, and another 100,000 square feet of quality studio space.

The entire redevelopment is expected to take five years to complete, as Castlepoint must do extensive soil remediation work on the brownfield site before the city will allow new construction to go ahead.