A massive city-owned land sale will see another film studio come to fruition in Burnaby.
The City of Burnaby says it's sold a 17.1-acre property to Larco Investments Ltd. for $136 million to make way for a 300,000-square-foot film studio at 3990 Marine Way. An adjacent road allowance is also included and located near the Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby's Big Bend neighbourhood.
“When we raised the possibility of selling this parcel of city-owned land, we made it clear that our priority was to find a partner committed to putting down roots in Burnaby and creating jobs in our city," Mayor Mike Hurley said in the announcement.
“Larco has a track record of creating industry-leading studio space and this project promises to support more than a thousand well-paying jobs in our community.”
The complex is expected to include:
- Sixteen sound stages
- Several mill shops
- Three storeys of office space
- Landscape improvements and enhancements to the riparian areas near Kaymar Creen and Glenlyon Creek
Larco has owned and operated Bridge Studios since 2007 and also has other studio sites in Burnaby under development at Lake City Way and Griffiths Drive.
Bridge Studios isn't a stranger to producing high-end content where work on television shows like Tomorrowland and ABC's The Good Doctor took place.
“With the addition of the development of the Marine Way site to our studio portfolio including Bridge, Griffiths, and Lake City, we are excited to become the largest studio operator in BC with 55 state-of-the-art custom-built sound stages as well as associated studio facilities and services for top production companies and content providers,” Larco principal Mansoor Lalji added in the announcement.
"We look forward to continuing to grow this important industry for Burnaby and B.C.”
Another film studio was proposed earlier this month when the Musqueam Indian Band, Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Aquilini Development announced a massive master plan has been proposed for the redevelopment of the Willingdon Lands in Burnaby.
The plan outlines the creation of a mixed-use, contemporary Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh urban village that, if approved, would provide approximately 5,000 housing units and include a 450,000-square-foot film studio that could create more than 3,000 new, long-term jobs to the city.
Located on the southwest corner of Willingdon Avenue and Canada Way, the 40-acre Willingdon Lands lie on the shared territory of the Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh nations. In 2014, the Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh nations, along with Aquilini Development, purchased the lands from the provincial government.
- with files from Chris Campbell, Burnaby NOW
