If Allen Christopher is skimming scripts he envisions getting filmed in Stratford, he might consider a biopic on D.W. Griffith, whose first film lot put Hollywood on the map. Christopher could cast himself as a latter-day Yankee version of the Kentucky-born Griffith, with a final fade-out of the giant STRATFORD sign to be modeled on the one that reads HOLLYWOOD.
In mid-April, the federal General Services Administration (GSA) announced it awarded development rights to the former Stratford Army Engine Plant to fledgling Hollywood East/Area 51, which bid more than $9 million to control the project.
The property”™s new owner is run by Christopher, who indicated the company plans to create 30 soundstages at the site, the largest at 45,000 square feet, as well as related support and production space.
Christopher said he envisions the site serving as an anchor facility that would enable digital media and motion picture producers to work here year round, creating thousands of jobs.
In 2006, he helped craft legislation authorizing Connecticut”™s 30 percent tax credit on film expenses.
Christopher”™s company”™s name echoes both his hopes to create a major studio in Connecticut, as well as his existing company Area 51 DMG Inc., which has been planning a digital television station for the New Haven area and which is named for the secretive research center in the Nevada dessert.
“It”™s not about ”˜if you build it, they will come”™ ”“ in the entertainment industry, it”™s about ”˜if the check clears, they will come,”™” Christopher testified at the time. “There”™s a bean counter sitting at one of the major studios right now that is taking a look at this, and they are already seeing an opportunity to move business, not just from New York, but from Los Angeles to Connecticut because the way these things are treated on a tax basis, and how the studios carry them on their financials.”
Christopher did not initially reveal details on Hollywood East/Area 51”™s own financials, but indicated he would air his plans more fully next month. GSA sold the property “as is,” transferring the responsibility of environmental remediation to the Hollywood East/Area 51. In the developer”™s eyes, that makes the property suitable for location shoots, which presumably would not carry the same cleanup costs as a standard commercial development.
The 78-acre property is adjacent to Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford on the Housatonic River, and has three main buildings and 50 outbuildings with a total of 1.7 million square feet of space.
The state of New York now plans match that of Connecticut, although its 30 percent tax break will not cover salaries of actors, directors and producers. Still, with New York City maintaining its own 5 percent credit, it is becoming a lot cheaper to maintain productions inside the city limits.
Massachusetts is also considering creating a 20 percent tax break for expenses associated with building permanent studios, in addition to a 25 percent tax break for film costs.
