8.29.23 - Blackstone, Office Giant Vornado to Join Forces on Manhattan’s First Film-and-TV Studio
'Investment giant Blackstone is joining with Vornado Realty Trust to develop Manhattan’s first major production-studio complex.
The venture, which also includes real-estate investment trust Hudson Pacific Properties, is investing $350 million in a wager that demand from streaming services is strong enough to justify Manhattan’s high development costs.
The partners plan to break ground later this year on a 266,000-square-foot campus on a Hudson River pier. Plans call for six soundstages as well as offices, writers’ rooms and other support facilities. The project, known as Sunset Pier 94 Studios, also will include other public amenities integrated into New York City’s bikeway and park system along the Hudson River.
The developers of Sunset Pier 94 expect to complete the project by the end of 2025.
“We’ll raise the bar for one of New York City’s signature industries and breathe new life into a key waterfront site,” said Michael Franco, president of Vornado, an office and retail developer which is making its first foray into studio development.'