Screen Nova Scotia (SNS) has moved forward on plans to build Nova Scotia’s first-ever purpose-built film and television soundstage.

The organization announced Friday (Aug. 11) that it will be acquiring Crown land through its subsidiary, Screen Nova Studios Inc., to build the planned 50,000 square-foot soundstage. The 25-acre location is just outside of Halifax, adjacent of Exhibition Park off of Highway 333, according a news release.

The move comes some 16 months after the provincial government announced that it was investing $8 million toward a soundstage as part of a larger $23 million investment in the film and TV sector.

A spokesperson for SNS tells Playback Daily that the organization estimates that the soundstage will be completed by the second or third quarter of 2025. SNS has previously estimated that the overall cost of the soundstage will come to roughly $20 million.

The announcement follows a land RFP process that began in late 2022. The parcel was chosen by an an industry-led committee due to its size, quiet natural setting and proximity to downtown, various amenities and priority highways, said the release.

The land will accommodate the project’s first phase and expected future expansions while also leaving some of the area in its “natural condition.”

SNS’s next step is to bring in equity partners to help fund the soundstage. The organization will issue a Request for Expressions of Interest on its website later this month.

The purpose-built facility is expected to “create more year-round jobs and draw even more productions to Nova Scotia’s growing film industry,” said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston in a statement, while Michael Volpe, president of Topsail Entertainment and board of director’s chair for Screen Nova Scotia, said it will “strengthen our competitiveness and generate economic and cultural benefits.”

SNS executive director Laura Mackenzie added that it will “anchor our industry for the future.”

Image courtesy of SNS