The vacant ExxonMobil manufacturing plant in Stratford is looking to make some noise again ”“ albeit scripted ”“ as it opens its doors as a film studio.
Dogstar Studios is redeveloping the 292,000-square-foot facility into a digital media and motion picture production complex.
The building on 18 acres off Lordship Boulevard once housed Exxon Mobil Films, which made polypropylene film wraps that went around cigarette packs.
“It”™s going from one kind of film to a totally different kind of film,” said Doug McAward, general manager of Dogstar.
McAward served as chairman of the Connecticut Film and Television Commission for eight years and is a veteran film producer.
Three years ago McAward and Dogstar CEO Allen Christopher, were the team, in addition to former state Rep. Jim Amann and Mindy Haddad, of Amann”™s staff, to write the original legislation, House Bill 5797, which created the film tax credits in the state.
“We created this legislation exactly for a business like this,” McAward said. “It”™s great that the movies come in and the movies go out, but this is a place where people are going to be able to have permanent jobs. This is bricks and mortar. It”™s nice to have a home with creative people right down every hall.”
McAward said the facility will enable the professionals who will be tenants to flesh out partnerships and ideas more readily.
“With the business coming into the state there was an opportunity for an infrastructure tax credit,” Christopher said. “Our intent from day one was not to rent a hotel room, but to buy a house. In New York there”™s a cap to the credits, but here there”™s a lower level of entry to get in and there”™s no cap.”
Â
“A huge portion of why we”™re doing this is not just because we think we”™ll make money on it or our passion for the industry, but that there”™s a need for it in Connecticut,” said Christopher. “Connecticut ranks last in creating jobs out of all 50 states. Connecticut also loses ages 18 to 34 more than any other state in both percentage and in actual number.
Â
Â
We”™re now going to be able to tie in with workforce development; we”™re calling it ”˜earn while you learn.”™ With digital media being the fastest growing industry in the world, you have over two dozen colleges in 20 minutes from here, with programs in those fields. To keep that talent here you”™ve got to give them a place to work. We”™ve said if not us, who, if not now, when?”
Christopher was previously involved in Hollywood East, a similar project proposed for the Stratford Army Engine Plant. He is no longer part of that endeavor.
McAward said the front offices of the building will house independent producers, writers, post production and some audio engineers.
“In the large bays in back, in addition to 12 stages there will be heavy duty vendors that are going to be servicing the studios with hardware, lighting and cranes; the whole bit,” McAward said. “We have about 30 tenants who have given us letters of intent to move in.”
“They”™ll be coming from in and out of state, about half and half,” said McAward. “Mutual Hardware will be coming up to open an office from New York. They”™ve been with us on this for two years.”
Mutual Hardware, based in Long Island City, Queens, is one of the largest suppliers of hardware to the entertainment industry on the East Coast.
Â
“There will be some small one-man shops to those with up to 20 people working in them,” McAward said. “We cover the whole gamut; there will be all the services you need to produce something under one roof, be it a commercial corporate piece or a major motion picture.”
Â
McAward said a commercial kitchen will also be on premises.
“If a movie comes in here, 150 people need to be feed in an hour,” said McAward. “That”™s just one job going on. You need to have a small catering company. We”™ll also be building a movie catering truck to serve a couple hundred meals for on location shoots.”
McAward said most of the tenants will be independent of Dogstar DMG.
McAward said the stages range in height from 15 to 37 feet, a feature not typically found in former factories, and one that he said would enable placement of lighting for maximum achievement.
The only other sound stage facility in the state is Sonalysts Inc. in Waterford.
McAward said an education center would be created to help adapt other trades to applicable ones in the film industry.
“We are going to tie in with local universities and colleges and provide opportunities for internship programs,” McAward said.
Â
According to sources, the building was bought by Dogstar for $6 million.
Â
“Exxon has been a delight to deal with,” said Christopher. “They”™ve been very good with the remediation on the building, for us it”™s well under $500,000.”
Dogstar has commissioned a study from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center to determine a precise number of jobs that will be created through the new studios.
McAward said there will be about 250 full-time jobs in the building and as many as 1,000 people working in the facility at a given time.
“We believe our adaptive reuse in a high growth industry will create thousands of new jobs in Connecticut over the next few years,” Christopher said.
