A New York City-based film library company has opened a location in Bridgeport with hopeful ideas for the future.
“We”™ve been looking at southern Connecticut for quite a while,” said Ralph Stevens, president of Film Chest. Stevens said with the help of Max Perez, economic development specialist for the city of Bridgeport he was able to find a property that met all companies needs.
The property, located at 110-118 Congress St., was previously used as a self-storage facility which was foreclosed upon. According to the town assessor”™s office, the property sold in 2006 for $1.5 million and is currently appraised at $1,970,571. Last October, the lender, Casco Bay Financial Corp. of Portland, Maine, seized the property through foreclosure and employed Angel Commercial LLC to sell the asset.
“The purchaser acquired the property in an all cash transaction with a short due diligence period which afforded them the lowest price,” said Jon Angel, president of Angel Commercial. “Transactions with few contingencies and no financing can frequently be accomplished quickly at less than market values.”
Stevens bought the 4,500-square-foot building for $435,000 and will be shifting staff members from a warehouse in Middletown to the Bridgeport location.
“One staff member is actually already using the warehouse for filming,” Stevens said. “I feel strongly that Bridgeport is very central and could use a small studio.”
Stevens said he had been on the lookout for a combination warehouse and office space for years.
Film Chest stores, creates master copies and restores content for use in broadcast television, film projects, video streaming, distribution, public television, cable or other professional needs. Film Chest has one of the largest libraries of public domain movies and series”™ in the world with a growing catalog that currently lists about 2,000 titles.
“We closed on the property in the second week of August,” Stevens said.
Film Chest will take advantage of Connecticut’s film, television and digital media production tax credit. Stevens said the building falls into the entertainment empowerment zone and the business has applied for the 80 percent tax abatement on property taxes, made possible by the tax credit.
“If I didn”™t have a meeting with the city of Bridgeport I would not have been that interested in the property,” Stevens said. “Being made aware of the support that you were going to get was terrific. The barrier to entry to going into business in Bridgeport is very low, but if you go into a small area that needs support, you get the support.”
Stevens said if the new Film Chest location proves to be a success he will be investing in future property purchases in the city.
