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Last year, film and television productions spent $4 billion in Georgia. Now, a new Doraville project could bring even more business to the state.
Assembly Studios, a new film and television production campus opening in Doraville, has already secured three "blockbusters," the project’s developer told Georgia lawmakers this week.
“Right off the bat, that’s a billion dollars of production value in 2024,” said Hilton Howell, board chairman and CEO of Gray Television (NYSE: GTN).
The Atlanta-based company is developing the $400 million film studio on the site of the former General Motors plant. In 2022, entertainment giant NBCUniversal signed a 15-year lease to be the project's anchor tenant.
NBCUniversal began moving into Assembly Studios in August, Howell previously said. The project includes 19 sound stages. One striking feature of the campus is an almost mile-long row of filmable buildings that mimic a city street.
Atlanta Business Chronicle toured Assembly Studios in Doraville on June 1, 2023.
Howell released the update about Assembly Studios this week while speaking to the Joint Tax Credit Review Panel, a committee of House and Senate legislators conducting a sweeping review of the state’s tax credits.
The review includes a deeper dive on Georgia’s film tax breaks. Hilton defended the incentives, calling the tax credit one of the state’s “undiluted triumphs.”
In fiscal year 2023, film and television productions spent $4.1 billion in Georgia. Many proponents of the tax credits say they are the primary catalyst.
In Assembly's first year of operations, the value of productions could grow to $1.4 billion, Howell told lawmakers. Atlanta Business Chronicle sought more context about that figure, but a spokesperson for Gray Television said there were no additional details at this time.
The volume of work may provide a big lift to Georgia’s film and TV industry, especially as the Hollywood writers strike come to end. The strikes had shut down productions across the country. The actors union remains on strike.
Future phases of Assembly Studios would add housing, shops, restaurants and a hotel. In August, Howell said within seven years the development will evolve into various mixed-use projects that cover up to two-thirds of the total acreage.
This week, he told lawmakers the project is creating 4,000 jobs. A spokesperson clarified that includes jobs at Assembly Studios and the adjacent Third Rail Studios, which Gray Television also owns.
“It’s the best in the business,” Howell said of Assembly Studios.
Clarification: This story was updated with additional information about the number of jobs at Assembly Studios.
