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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 8-14, 2022 BXR
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
The state-of-the-art Lionsgate
Studios Yonkers, which opened
earlier this year in downtown
Yonkers, is now the beneficiary of
a $230 million refinancing loan,
which will allow the borrower
to repay the construction loan
on phase one of a film studio that
could be one of the biggest studios
ever built in the Northeast.
JLL Capital Markets announced
on behalf of the borrower,
National Resources— a
Connecticut-based developer and
one of the largest private owners
of Hudson River waterfront real
estate in the New York metro region
— that the owner will use
the financing to repay the $29.3
million construction loan provided
by Sterling National Bank
for the development’s first phase,
as well as to build the project’s
latest component.
The transaction indicates
that this is a five-year, fully extended
loan.
Phase one of the 500,000-square
foot facility opened in January
2022, coinciding with an announcement
from Great Point
Capital Management that it
planned a $500 million expansion
that will position the facility
as the largest modern-built
film and television production
campus in the Northeast. The
facility which is located at 28
Wells Ave., on the Hudson River
in downtown Yonkers, is surrounded
by multiple retail, dining
and entertainment establishments,
and within walking
distance of the new Saw Mill
River Plaza and Yonkers’ new
Metro-North Railroad station.
The builder and manager of
the $500 million campus is Great
Point Studios, an investment
and development group led by
Hallmark Channel founder Robert
Halmi and media investment
banker Fehmi Zeko.
When completed, the 1-million
square-foot development
will have more 20,000-squarefoot
stages on one campus than
any other facility in the Northeast.
It will have 11 soundstages:
eight 20,000-square-foot stages,
two 10,000-square-foot stages and
a 30,000-square-foot stage. It will
also include parking for more
than 750 cars and 100 trucks.
While the full campus is expected
to be complete by December
2023, Yonkers Mayor Mike
Spano expects more film industry
announcements coming into
Yonkers this year.
“From a handful of production
days in 2012 to over 200 in
2021, Yonkers is giving Hollywood
a run for its money,” said
Spano, the three-term mayor.
The unveiling of the studio
was initially planned for fall of
2020 but COVID affected construction
and its public opening,
Spano told the Bronx Times in
January.
Today, the property includes
three sound stages, dozens of
dressing rooms and makeup stations,
dedicated office space for
writers and administrative staff,
The Lionsgate Yonkers Studio opened its doors on Jan 22, and could soon be
one of the biggest film studios in the Northeast. Photo courtesy JLL
set design and construction facilities,
screening rooms, dining
areas and hundreds of parking
spaces.
The Starz comedy series “Run
the World,” a television comedy
anchored by Black women leads,
is the first show filmed on-site.
Lionsgate Studios Yonkers
receives $230M refinancing loan
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