Film company selected for engine plant

RICHARD WEIZEL Newsroom@ctpost.com

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_8925838

STRATFORD — In the town where the once thriving Shakespeare theater put Stratford on the map as an entertainment showcase, a New Haven film and multi-media production company is planning to do it again by creating "one of the largest studio complexes in the United States" at the former Army Engine Plant site on Main Street..
Hollywood East/Area 51 was unveiled Monday by the U.S. Army and General Services Administration as the company that submitted the winning online bid last month of $9.6 million for the 78-acre contaminated waterfront property now known as Point Stratford, and the company formally selected to redevelop the site.

The property, which borders the Housatonic River and is across the street from Sikorsky Memorial Airport, has been dormant for 12 years, but is considered the key to Stratford's economic redevelopment.

After numerous failed attempts to develop the parcel, which was the site of defense manufacturing for decades, most recently engines for Army aircraft, the U.S. Army intervened last year just as the Town Council voted to sell the property to developer Monti-Posillico of Long Island.

"We are very excited about Point Stratford," Allen Christopher, president of Hollywood East, said Monday in a prepared statement.

"With Connecticut now having the most aggressive production tax incentives in the U.S., the state needed an anchor facility that would enable digital media and motion picture producers from all over the world the ability

to work here year-round," Christopher said. "Our plan calls for approximately 30 soundstages ranging [up to] 45,000 square feet, with support services, production offices and commissary all located within the same facility," he said. "Point Stratford will be one of the largest studio complexes in the United States and we believe it will act as a magnet for significant new revenue and the creation of thousands of jobs."
Mayor James R. Miron said the plan also is likely to include a television station, Channel 51, the last known UHF station available in Connecticut.

Christopher indicated he intends to develop the site as an industry cluster for digital media and motion pictures; an industry growing rapidly in Connecticut. Hollywood East has assembled a "team of highly qualified professionals to manage the remediation and redevelopment process," and will pay the cleanup costs, that could be between $50 million and $80 million, officials said.

Miron said Monday he plans to meet with Christopher Wednesday and to hold a "major press conference" at the former plant next week to reveal further details.

"This is what we've been waiting for all these years," Miron said Monday.

"Entertainment and tourism is a multi-million [dollar] annual business, and together with the planned revival of the Shakespeare theater this can be an amazing combination to stimulate the local economy," Miron said. However, the mayor cautioned there is "still work to be done before the deal is finalized. We have 180 days from today to reach a final agreement, but certainly I believe we are well on our way."

The Army and GSA indicated in a statement Monday they are "pleased with the significant efforts undertaken by the successful bidder to understand the remediation requirements and the Town of Stratford's redevelopment goals for this idled facility."

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, said in a statement Monday she is excited the long-delayed effort to develop the engine plant is apparently over. "After 13 years of working with the Town of Stratford and the Army, I am thrilled with today's announcement that the winning bid for Point Stratford has been formally accepted by GSA," she said. "We will spur development, return the property to the tax rolls, and most importantly — especially as communities across the country face the implications of the Bush recession — create jobs," she said.

Councilman Michael Julian, R-1, whose district includes the site, said he now realizes the Army takeover of the property last year was a smart move.

"We didn't want the town to lose control of the property, but in the end it's clear the Army's decision was the right one and we can look forward to something very special to spur economic development at the site," Julian said.

Read full story here

-----------------------------------------------

Article courtesy of the Connecticut Post

Town of Stratford