Privately-funded film studio in Sudbury will generate $60M in annual revenue: report
Out of the ashes of the controversial Kingsway Entertainment District, funding is already in place to build a new $40 million film studio on the same piece of land in Greater Sudbury.
A report headed to city council Dec. 13 said private investors have committed $17 million for the construction of the 116,000-square-foot Freshwater Production Studio on The Kingsway, pending municipal support.
“The developer has committed land valued at $2.4 million in addition to design and construction services,” the report said.
“The balance of financing is secured through a bank loan.”
Plans for the studio were publicized in August, when officials outlined their plans to the previous city council.
The direction at the time was for staff to return with a report outlining what other cities have offered film studios, and what role Greater Sudbury could play.
Ontario's film and TV industry contributed a record $2.88 billion to Ontario's economy in 2021, creating 48,135 high-value full-time equivalent direct and spin-off jobs.
“This represents an increase of 92 per cent over the previous year,” the report said, adding that a recovery from COVID-19 is at least partially responsible for the spike in activity.
“Prior to the pandemic there was a steady increase in production impact with $2.16 billion in direct spending in 2019 creating 44,540 jobs.”
Greater Sudbury has become a major production centre, with the city attracting 165 film and TV projects in the last 10 years, with a total local direct impact of more than $216 million.
Options for the city to support the project include under community improvement plans, which offer tax rebates once the project is completed.
The city could also share in the cost of road improvements in the area that will be required to access the site, as well as reduction in development charges.
The studio is looking for the equivalent of $7 million of support from the city through a combination of programs.
Read the full report here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Images taken deep inside melted Fukushima reactor show damage, but leave many questions unanswered
Images taken by miniature drones from deep inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced control equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, underscoring the daunting task of decommissioning the plant.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.