Georgia governor Brian Kemp announced that Cinelease is making a major expansion of its new studios in Covington.
Opened in 2020, Three Ring currently has six stages and 109,200 square feet for production as well as plenty of space for offices and set construction.
The new plans will more than double the sound stage space, with 14 stages and 276,000 square feet of production space when completed in 2023. The only studio in Georgia with more square footage at the moment is Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, where many Disney+ TV series and Marvel films are shot.
Third Ring is owned and developed by a joint public-private venture between Rahim Charania with Atlanta-based real estate firm Woodvale and Cary Goldman with Chicago-based real estate firm Timberhill Group.
Cinelease, which came to Georgia in 2007, also owns studios in Clayton County and Newton County and employs 60 full-time employees.
Gannon Murphy, General Manager of Cinelease Studio, in a press release said: “We can confidently say that investing in an expansion of this magnitude reinforces Cinelease’s commitment to making an impactful contribution to the workforce, tax base, and client experience in Georgia.”
Back in November, Bisnow reported that Los Angeles-based CIM Group — the developer working on the multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the Gulch called Centennial Yards in downtown Atlanta —agreed to finance this $144 million expansion.
Georgia, fueled by the generous tax credits passed by the state to TV and film production companies in 2008, has more than 120 purpose-built soundstages, among the most in the country, almost all of them built over the past decade. About 50 film and TV productions are happening right now, ranging from “Real Housewives of Atlanta” to “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
More soundstages are coming. In Athens, Athena Studios recently broke ground. In November, executives of Third Rail Studios in Doraville announced Electric Owl Studios near the Indian Creek MARTA station set to open in 2023. And Atlanta-based Gray Television has ambitious plans on the land of the former General Motors auto plant in Doraville that will include expansive studio space. Both Blackhall Studios and EUE/Screen Gems have expansion plans as well.
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