Tuesday, May 18, 2010
News Lakewood's second chance
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, May 18, 2010 at 6:53 PM
Over the past 30 years, Bob Shelley has heard more than his share of aborted plans to redevelop the historic Lakewood Fairgrounds into something grand.
Among them: a new home for Zoo Atlanta, a charter school and even a mini-city along the lines of Atlantic Station. Drive by the familiar buildings on a hilltop overlooking the adjacent amphitheater and expansive parking lot, however, and you'll see that none have come to fruition.
"When you hear that over and over and over, you say you'll believe it when you see it," says Shelley, who maintains a prop-filled special effects studio inside one of Lakewood's 94-year-old exhibit halls. A veteran of Georgia film productions, his office walls are adorned with autographed photos of movie stars.
But now Shelley is a believer in the latest proposal for 30 of the expansive property's 117 acres, including the familiar Spanish Mission Revival-style exhibit halls that have fallen into disrepair.
Last week, the city announced it had edged out other cities and negotiated a 50-year lease with EUE/Screen Gems, a New York company that operates state-of-the-art soundstages and production facilities, that would transform the dilapidated area into a multimillion-dollar backlot of Hollywood proportions.
City officials are giddy at the thought of 1,000 new jobs during one of the country's deepest recessions and filling the property, which it's struggled to do for years. Lakewood Heights residents and businesses are aglow at the thought of a round-the-clock, year-round industry that would bring work, investment and new residents to the area. And film industry insiders say it's the final piece in Georgia's puzzle that will bring millions in investment and add prestige to the city's growing reputation as a go-to spot to make movies.
Continue Reading "Lakewood's second chance"
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
Comments (3)
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It sounds very interesting. Let's hope the site achieves its potential and promise.
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This is awesome on so many levels. A great fit at the right time for Atlanta. It feels like we're hitting a tipping point as a city with a Film/TV identity.
In December 2008, I had published via my blog about a system our organization had developed which would have the potential of creating over 10,000 film industry related jobs in Atlanta and beyond. See blog at: http://www.atlantafilmworks.com/blog/2008_12_01_archive.html I blogged about how we could use this system to resurrect neighbourhoods in Atlanta and the surrounding communities within a few years. How this system would put under utilized infrastructure like the former Lakewood Fairgrounds into use, employing over 1000 local people. I must say, this proposed studio lease is a great deal for Hollywood but it is not spectacular for Atlanta and will not bring spectacular gains to the people of Atlanta, in the long run. In order to have real opportunities, we must focus our efforts to develop our "own film industry". This would create an unlimited number of jobs, and bring in tax revenue to our government. And did I tell you the cost of our system? Virtually nothing, to set it in motion. To many, this new studio may be seen as the last pieces of the puzzle for Atlanta's developing film industry.. That is only if you look at it from Hollywood's point of view (which most people do). Looking at it from the point of view of our communities, our talent and the sustainability of the industry in Atlanta, the first and last piece of the puzzle is distribution.. The question is "which puzzle are we solving"? Isn't it time we helped solve the puzzle that brings us the most gain? Isn't it time we helped build the "real" movie industry of the South?
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