Pinewood Toronto Studios has announced plans to build a new 135,000 square-foot facility, after the company leased 1.75 acres of extra land from its landlord, Toronto Port Lands Company.

Calling it a “much anticipated milestone” for Pinewood’s growth strategy, WFW boss and Pinewood chairman Paul Bronfman said in a statement the move will help the studio better support “all levels of production.”

Currently at 300,000 square-feet, the studio hopes to eventually lock down 600,000 square feet. 

Construction on the new space is slated to begin in 2016, with the facility planned to be operational by 2018. The expanded studio will include production offices, workshop spaces, parking facilities as well as space for retail outlets.

“This expansion builds our capacity to host additional productions simultaneously on our lot,” said Blake Steels, president of Pinewood Toronto Studios, in a statement. Pinewood Toronto is located on an approximately 14-acre space of land and its application to begin construction is currently pending with the City of Toronto.

The announcement comes as Canada’s nationwide studio industry flirts with saturation due in part to the sustained weakness of the Canadian dollar.

Pinewood’s most recent expansion, in late 2013, saw the studio add three soundstages to its Toronto waterfront location. The stages, each around 10,000 square foot in size, cost an estimated $40 million.