Calgary’s new studio — for real, this time?

The Alberta industry is banking on a new Calgary studio, combined with the province’s grant incentive, to boost production — though area producers have heard talk of purpose-built soundstages before, only to be disappointed.

The province recently announced an agreement in principle to purchase 10 acres of land in northwest Calgary to house a $26 million studio complex.

‘The studio will solidify Calgary as another jurisdiction in Canada with the infrastructure to be a major player in the industry,’ says Calgary film commissioner Luke Azevedo. ‘We have the locations, the crew, the incentives, and no provincial sales tax, so add the studio and we have a really attractive package… The stars are aligning in Alberta.’

The proposal includes a 30,000-square-foot and 20,000-square-foot studio — both will be dividable — plus office space and a 45,000-square-foot creative hub.

‘We are all excited that there appears to be a bona fide studio proposal coming forward with support from all three levels of government,’ says Michael Frislev of Calgary-based Nomadic Pictures. ‘It’s been a long time coming.’

The Calgary industry has talked about the need for a purpose-built studio for decades and a couple of proposals have been put forward in the past, but without success. The problem, according Azevedo and others, has been finding land close to the urban center that isn’t too expensive, not already developed with existing buildings, yet offering enough space that there is expansion potential down the road.

Getting government and private investors to pony up money has also proven difficult.

The studio situation became more critical in January when the federal government closed the Currie Barracks, a former military base that had four retrofitted soundstages, in order to redevelop the land for residential use.

‘Producers have been scraping together ad hoc warehouse space in the interim but it hasn’t been ideal,’ says Frislev. ‘It’s not a long-term solution.’

This current proposal is ideal because the land is located on a section of Canada Olympic Park, about 18 minutes from the airport, 20 minutes from downtown and on the highway leading to Banff. It is expected to be financed by all three levels of government plus private investors. While the money has not been finalized, a deal is close, says Lindsay Blackett, Alberta’s minister of culture and community spirit.

‘When I took over this portfolio 18 months ago I said ‘How can we not get this [studio] done?” says Blackett. ‘People have been disappointed for a long time but it is a new day… Ideally we would like the studio to be funded 45% to 50% by government with the remaining coming from private investment. The private sector has to sustain the studio in the long run.’

The studio will be run as a non-profit, with an advisory board and board of directors. A management company with studio experience will be hired to run it.

Blackett says they are in the process of hiring an architect. He hopes construction can begin next spring. The project may be built in steps, with the larger stage and the digital hub constructed first, followed by the second stage.

In recent months, Alberta has made improvements in its grant program to be more competitive with other provinces. Productions are eligible to receive 20% to 29% of their Alberta spend — including hotel, travel, post VFX and rental costs — capped at $5 million per project. The province also just announced that a broadcast licence will no longer be required to receive the funds, opening the doors to digital projects. There is also money available as of 2010 to support local projects at the development phase.

Azevedo says scouting of Calgary is at a record high over the past several months, as a result of the improved grant.

‘We are on the radar in a significant way so we anticipate a busy 2010,’ he says.