Echelon Studios to bring film and TV production to Red Hook
The all-electric facility, with solar panels on its roof, will be six stories tall and 167,000 square feet.
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Following a unanimous vote by the New York City Planning Commission, the next steps have been approved for Bungalow Projects to turn 176 Dikeman St. into Echelon Studios, a new film and TV production facility.
"What we wanted to do is create state of the art tv and film production to help continue fostering New York City's film and TV industry," said Travis Feehan, the co-founder of Bungalow Projects. "We think it's a special place, we think it fosters this amazing creative energy."
The all-electric facility, with solar panels on its roof, will be six stories tall and 167,000 square feet.
Plans call for four sound stages, office and production space and underground parking.
"We got a lot of these empty lots doing nothing here, so anything that goes up on any of these lots here to me is well worth it," said Frank Morales, the owner nearby F&M Cafe and Restaurant, who also said that more people in the area would mean more business for him.
"My concern is traffic," said Gloria Deitcher, a local artist. "It's going to be very difficult to get around."
There will be more people. Developers say the studio will be able to support two productions at a time, and each of them will need between 500 and 600 jobs.
"A lot of these jobs are good paying union jobs," said Feehan. "Things like carpenters, electricians, makeup artists, costume designers."
Because they are union jobs, they will be local.
Meanwhile Feehan also says that they will work to make the studio a resource for local kids by hosting things like paid internships.
"They help give them the equipment and the guidance, to help really build and get kids that are interested, and create a pipeline to the industry," Feehan said.
He also expects the relationship to go both ways - with Red Hook also serving as a resource for the productions.
"There are lighting rental companies here," he explained, "catering is drawn from the local community, (productions) buy furniture, they'll often buy from local thrift stores."
An even bigger campus of Echelon Studios in Bushwick is also in development. Both are expected to open in the summer of 2027.
