ceaz40
Active Member
On the same vein, has anyone heard anything more about the Pinewood Studios project at Dundas and Sterling? Is it still going to happen? Any word when it might start?
Toronto Pinewood Toronto Studios | 10m | 1s | Pinewood Group | HOK
Colin
New Member
I've seen somewhere written that construction is suppose to start early this year with the completion some time in 2011.
globetrekker
New Member
Amazing photos! Thanks for taking and posting them! I like the four storey building, but what were they thinking with the retro colours? 
I love the major stage! I wish these stages had those huge slide doors like the one's in L.A.....
I love the major stage! I wish these stages had those huge slide doors like the one's in L.A.....The new stage under construction:
The four storey building (could find the entrance):
From the rear side:
Sir Novelty Fashion
Senior Member
All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.
Archivist
Senior Member
I liked the colours, but am ambivalent about how it "meets the street". Though the street is Commissioners, and so street retail is not likely to succeed there.
It's a bit odd being there, because all of a sudden there's a building that comes right up to Commissioners, but there's no sidewalk. I guess the area will change in time.
It's a bit odd being there, because all of a sudden there's a building that comes right up to Commissioners, but there's no sidewalk. I guess the area will change in time.
alklay
Senior Member
Is this stage the big stage or one of the smaller ones (and is there more than one stage built on the site thus far)?
Archivist
Senior Member
Probably others know better, but I think the new skeleton building there is one of the big stages. A new stage is open, I believe, as of March. (There were signs at the site advertising this). That would be one of the more banal buildings set back well from Commissioners.
3Dementia
Senior Member
This is indeed the so-called "Mega-stage".
According to FILMPORT:
-largest feature-quality stage in the world
-45,500 square feet
-100 feet to the top of the roof
-180 feet wide by 250 feet long (more than an acre)
-one of 7 stages planned for Phase One
According to FILMPORT:
-largest feature-quality stage in the world
-45,500 square feet
-100 feet to the top of the roof
-180 feet wide by 250 feet long (more than an acre)
-one of 7 stages planned for Phase One
urbandreamer
recession proof
So far, this building looks .... boring. Unremarkable in fact, eh?
alklay
Senior Member
The reason I asked is that the first two photos of the building do not make the stage look all that big (and I thought it was one of the smaller stages).
In light of our dollar, the increased use of digital sets and the fact that every jurisdiction is now giving tax breaks for films, etc, I hope this studio is successful.
In light of our dollar, the increased use of digital sets and the fact that every jurisdiction is now giving tax breaks for films, etc, I hope this studio is successful.
3Dementia
Senior Member
It looks much bigger in person, though not as big as the specs suggest.
There are 2 more "ribs" to be added to the length seen in the pic.
There are 2 more "ribs" to be added to the length seen in the pic.
yyzer
Senior Member
from today's Daily Commercial News:
Apr. 22, 2008
CanBUILD 2008 delegates tour Filmport development
SAUL CHERNOS
correspondent
The cameras aren’t yet rolling on Toronto’s eastern waterfront, but delegates from CanBUILD 2008 who toured the Port Lands district recently had a sneak preview of a development intended to attract blockbuster attention.
The 30-acre Filmport site, located on the north side of the Shipping Channel at Don Roadway, and areas immediately surrounding it have been vacant since the mid-1980s, when Imperial Oil closed a tank farm and production facilities.
The property was sold to the Toronto Economic Development Corporation in the early 1990s and, in conjunction with much of the waterfront, has recently experienced a rebirth.
Following a risk assessment in 2006, TEDCO opted for on-site bioremediation rather than older-style dig-and-dump.
This was completed late last year, and crews are now building the first phase of the Filmport project, including 233,000 square feet of studio, shop, production and support space and one of the world’s largest sound stages, which — proponents hope — will attract high-budget blockbuster films.
“It will be the largest cluster in Toronto’s history,†said Hon Lu, manager of urban environmental services with TEDCO, explaining that the city expects up to 4,000 people to be involved in production and related work once Filmport is up and running — the target date is 2010.
As is often the case with brownfields, getting there wasn’t easy. One initial problem, Lu said, was financing. “Canadian banks were too risk adverse, but we finally got financing from banks in the U.S.â€
Particularly helpful at creating peace of mind, Lu said, was the filing of a record of site condition. “It’s a phenomenal tool to lock in place the obligations of today...it’s a letter of closure,†he explained, adding that officials were able to use these documents to help manage issues such as tiny pockets missed during the bioremediation process.
“That’s where a lot of the money was spent front-end-wise,†Lu said.
“You just don’t want to be wrong with a deal this big, so we went back to our records just to make sure we didn’t miss anything.â€
While the project’s first phase was relatively straightforward, dealing largely with fuel tanks and dredging from the nearby mouth of the Don River, the second phase, with a planned office tower and post-production facility, are expected to be more complex.
“At least we have right now, on title, that this whole block is cleaned up to Table 3 (standard industrial-commercial) standards of the day — period. End of story. So if someone wants to come back here and renegotiate a residential development they have to go through the hoops of ministerial approval since it’s filed on title. We didn’t technically have to do this because it was a land exchange, but it was a question of good practice.â€
Filmport is just part of the overall east-waterfront equation. TEDCO is overseeing remediation of a wide swath of land, in various phases. One project attracting significant attention is the new headquarters for Corus Entertainment, to the west of Filmport, in the East Bayfront.
One challenge was underground methane from an old landfill. “There are a couple of cases of residential and commercial buildings being built on methane, but this was the first time in Toronto in a long time, so people were quite nervous about it,†Lu said.
“We chose a risk assessment, and ths picked up many things. Corus has a document now that gives them a map of what the issues are.â€
Apr. 22, 2008
CanBUILD 2008 delegates tour Filmport development
SAUL CHERNOS
correspondent
The cameras aren’t yet rolling on Toronto’s eastern waterfront, but delegates from CanBUILD 2008 who toured the Port Lands district recently had a sneak preview of a development intended to attract blockbuster attention.
The 30-acre Filmport site, located on the north side of the Shipping Channel at Don Roadway, and areas immediately surrounding it have been vacant since the mid-1980s, when Imperial Oil closed a tank farm and production facilities.
The property was sold to the Toronto Economic Development Corporation in the early 1990s and, in conjunction with much of the waterfront, has recently experienced a rebirth.
Following a risk assessment in 2006, TEDCO opted for on-site bioremediation rather than older-style dig-and-dump.
This was completed late last year, and crews are now building the first phase of the Filmport project, including 233,000 square feet of studio, shop, production and support space and one of the world’s largest sound stages, which — proponents hope — will attract high-budget blockbuster films.
“It will be the largest cluster in Toronto’s history,†said Hon Lu, manager of urban environmental services with TEDCO, explaining that the city expects up to 4,000 people to be involved in production and related work once Filmport is up and running — the target date is 2010.
As is often the case with brownfields, getting there wasn’t easy. One initial problem, Lu said, was financing. “Canadian banks were too risk adverse, but we finally got financing from banks in the U.S.â€
Particularly helpful at creating peace of mind, Lu said, was the filing of a record of site condition. “It’s a phenomenal tool to lock in place the obligations of today...it’s a letter of closure,†he explained, adding that officials were able to use these documents to help manage issues such as tiny pockets missed during the bioremediation process.
“That’s where a lot of the money was spent front-end-wise,†Lu said.
“You just don’t want to be wrong with a deal this big, so we went back to our records just to make sure we didn’t miss anything.â€
While the project’s first phase was relatively straightforward, dealing largely with fuel tanks and dredging from the nearby mouth of the Don River, the second phase, with a planned office tower and post-production facility, are expected to be more complex.
“At least we have right now, on title, that this whole block is cleaned up to Table 3 (standard industrial-commercial) standards of the day — period. End of story. So if someone wants to come back here and renegotiate a residential development they have to go through the hoops of ministerial approval since it’s filed on title. We didn’t technically have to do this because it was a land exchange, but it was a question of good practice.â€
Filmport is just part of the overall east-waterfront equation. TEDCO is overseeing remediation of a wide swath of land, in various phases. One project attracting significant attention is the new headquarters for Corus Entertainment, to the west of Filmport, in the East Bayfront.
One challenge was underground methane from an old landfill. “There are a couple of cases of residential and commercial buildings being built on methane, but this was the first time in Toronto in a long time, so people were quite nervous about it,†Lu said.
“We chose a risk assessment, and ths picked up many things. Corus has a document now that gives them a map of what the issues are.â€
CityPlaceN1
Senior Member
Good to see the portlands finally starting to be redeveloped.
allabootmatt
Senior Member
Too bad BSG is coming to an end; Filmport might have allowed us to snag it from Vancouver.
H