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Toronto's media production sector is booming, with its growth currently being held back by a lack of new facilities to expand into. Pinewood Toronto Studios is already Canada's largest production facility of its kind, with one original converted warehouse on the site and eleven purpose-built sound stages, the largest of which is called the Mega Stage, and which at 4,300 m2 was the largest such stage on the continent when it was built in 2009.
Earlier this month, the studio, the ownership of which is divided among Castlepoint Numa, The Pinewood Studios Group, and Bell Media who have a controlling interest, has now submitted a Site Plan Approval application to the City of Toronto for a significant expansion of buildings on the 4.5 hectare/11 acre site.
Located on the south side of Commissioners Street east of the Don Roadway, new buildings designed by HOK would add of 20,890 m2 of space, with 12,409 m2 of that for "permanent communication and broadcasting establishment uses", including five purpose-built sound stages and workshops. Another 5,828 m2 is for production offices, while a 2,653 m2 temporary workshop is proposed for the east side of the site to support the studio use. That building is considered temporary as the Broadview Avenue extension is proposed to run through that part of the site at an as yet undetermined time in the future.
At the southeast corner of the site, a proposed workshop building is located so that a future public promenade along the ship channel to the south is not compromised. In the south-centre, a pair of 1,400 m2 sound stages are planned on either side of support space. The largest of the buildings will be fronted by 4 storeys of office space with three sound stages behind, one at 2,794 m2, and two at 1,672 m2 purpose-built sound stages. Further space here would be divided into 1,005 m2 of workshop and 454 m2 equipment depot. This building would be located on an extension of the private lane that extends west of the Basin Street gate to the complex.
We will be back with more as Pinewood continues to expand. In the meantime, if you would like to know more, you can check out our dedicated thread for the site. You can get in on the discussion there, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
