Planned $900M Media Production Campus Near Phoenix Gets Initial Approval

Article originally posted on CoStar on November 9, 2023

A planned $900 million media production campus with more than 50 soundstages near Phoenix received initial approval from regional planners as Arizona vies with other states to meet growing industry needs for movie and TV soundstages.

The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission this month recommended approval of rezoning that would clear the way for the 320-acre Desert Studios complex in the unincorporated community of Tonopah, Arizona, about 50 miles west of Phoenix. The project is subject to further permitting, site plan and other government reviews, with construction expected to begin in the second half of 2024, according to filings with the county.

County filings showed Phoenix-based Desert Studios Complex LLC is planning a multiphase project that would include 56 studio soundstages at full build-out, along with 40,000 square feet of support facilities such as offices, warehouses and theaters. The first phase includes 12 soundstages with support facilities.

The project would be built on vacant property at 355^th Ave. and Indian School Road in the rural community of Tonopah, near the western Phoenix suburb of Buckeye. It would be the first full-scale film production campus in the Phoenix region, though Arizona has several facilities where location shoots and post-production are done.

Arizona lawmakers last year approved a tax credit program, with $75 million allocated for this year and rising to $125 million in 2025, giving media producers incentives to film and develop local facilities in the state. According to the program’s website, productions must film on a local soundstage of at least 10,000 square feet or conduct all post-production in a qualified local facility if filming consists primarily of location shoots.

This is the second Arizona production campus to be proposed since the passage of the tax credit. Acacia Filmed Entertainment announced last year it is in early planning on a two-phase, 14-soundstage project planned for a 70-acre site near Scottsdale, east of Phoenix.

Several states have passed similar incentive programs over the past decade to boost local media production, including New Mexico, Louisiana and Georgia. Arizona is also competing with several soundstage projects already in the works in the Los Angeles area.

Developers nationwide are responding to rising industry needs for production space, especially as competing streaming media services increase the production of original programming. Production work has been disrupted during the past three years by the pandemic and, more recently, by writer and actor strikes.

Developers of Desert Studios did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Maricopa County planning staff report said the complex is envisioned as “a production hub to include services for all aspects of movie and TV production.”

“The studio complex is expected to create thousands of on-site and film industry-related jobs,” the report said, adding it is “anticipated to be a major driver” for tourism and other nearby development.