ATLANTA—In yet another sign of the growing influence of the Atlanta area on television and film production, media production start-up BlueStar Studios has announced plans to build a 53-acre production campus in a suburb of the city. The new studio in Forest Park will offer purpose-built stages starting Summer 2023.
Offering more than 600,000 square feet of production and office space, the campus will include 18 stages ranging from 5,000 square feet to more than 40,000 square feet. The historic 108,000-square-foot Fort Gillem headquarters building serves as the centerpiece of the campus. Productions will have access to two intersecting 100GB fiber lines for supporting all technical needs, including cloud services and virtual production. BlueStar Studios is currently under construction and development will continue in phases through 2024, with an expected total investment of $180M.
“BlueStar Studios offers production teams and studios top-of-the-line stages equipped with the latest tools and tech in a beautiful, historic campus conveniently located 10 minutes away from the Atlanta airport. It’s an exceptional space designed with creativity in mind, and our infrastructure provides the ultimate in bandwidth and redundancy,” said Rich Goldberg, CEO and Founder of BlueStar Studios.
An additional 45,000 square feet of former motor pool, wood-working and metal-working buildings will be repurposed mill and wardrobe. Amenities include a nature trail, on-site cafe, dog run, and more, and the campus retains much of its original 1940s era architecture, providing an abundance of practical shooting locations, as well as sound stages for traditional or virtual production. Offices are also available for lease to companies looking for a production-friendly home base in Georgia.
Developed to be an “inviting place for storytellers,” according to the company, BlueStar Studios says the new development will support the surrounding community through employment and educational opportunities and that the company is currently exploring partnerships with local universities and high schools, with the goal of becoming a premier destination for learning next generation filmmaking techniques and training students in the cinematic arts.
“Fort Gillem has long been a significant presence in our community, so we’re thrilled to see such a transformational development through this substantial investment in a technology-forward way. BlueStar Studios preserves the charm and history of the surrounding area while also bringing new production capabilities and boosting our local economy,” said Forest Park Mayor Angelyne Butler. “We look forward to welcoming productions and their highly-skilled professionals to Forest Park and sharing all our city has to offer.”
