Film & TV Studio Buys Glendale Site
Glendale finds itself in the limelight after a film and television company recently finalized its purchase of Atlas Terminals’ remaining warehouses, according to documents filed with the city on Monday, Dec. 1.
Broadway Stages, through a holding company known as Cooper 8200 Realty, reportedly paid $19.5 million for three manufacturing-zoned parcels held by the Atlas Terminals LLC: 81-80, 82-04 and 82-10 Cooper Ave. The deal also included a listed dwelling at 83-02 Doran Ave.
With the ink barely dry on the deal, the site’s new owner indicated it would soon begin drafting its plans.
“We’re excited to turn the existing warehouses at Atlas Terminals into some television and film studios and create rental space for local mom-and-pops including retail businesses,” Jackie Kessel, a spokesperson for Broadway Stages, said in a statement sent to the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday, Dec. 2. “We look forward to working with local officials as we develop our plans to draw on all of the energy around Atlas Park, bringing new jobs, business growth and economic development to Queens.”
City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley-whose office is located at the adjacent Shops at Atlas Park-sounded an optimistic note over the deal in an email sent to this paper Tuesday.
“I am excited for the potential jobs and new cultural opportunities that may come as a result of this sale,” she stated. “While we still do not know all of the details, I will be working diligently to make sure any new development benefits our community.”
“Though we only have preliminary information at this point, I am pleased to hear Broadway Stages could bring a film studio and industry services to our community,” State Sen. Joseph Addabbo added in a statement emailed to the Times Newsweekly Wednesday, Dec. 3. “In addition to the cultural advantages, the renovation and upkeep for a studio could provide job opportunities for my constituents. Both during my tenure in the City Council and now in the State Senate, I have supported tax credits for film production, which has significantly increased jobs and revenue. Also, the new studio’s location next to The Shops at Atlas Park could promote the Shops’ businesses, and overall contribute a boost to our local economy.”
On its website, Broadway Stages bills itself as “one of New York’s largest full-service film, television and music production facilities … equipped to handle every conceivable size, style and type of production, whether it is for film, episodic television series, television pilots, miniseries, music, commercials or studio photography.”
The company also boasts its role in producing various television shows such as CBS’ The Good Wife, Unforgettable and Blue Bloods; USA Network’s Royal Pains; HBO’s How to Make it in America; and feature films including It’s Complicated from Universal Pictures and The Brave One from Warner Bros.
Broadway Stages is based on Meserole Avenue in Greenpoint; its co-founder, Gina Argento, is also the owner of Maspeth’s Knockdown Center, an arts and entertainment venue that generated controversy earlier this year in its unsuccessful quest for a liquor license.
Civic leaders opposed their application, claiming large-scale concerts held there-attended by hundreds-would pose qualityof life problems such as excessive noise, traffic and disorderly behavior for nearby residents.
Meanwhile, the deal apparently brings down the curtain on Atlas Terminals, a center of industry for generations that employed thousands of people.
Opened in 1922 by Henry Hemmerdinger, the facility at its peak encompassed more than 20 acres and leased space from 40 buildings to large and small businesses.
As industry left the area, Atlas Terminals evolved in the last few decades into a warehouse and distribution facility. In the last decade, half of the site was redeveloped into The Shops at Atlas Park, originally a high-end shopping and lifestyle center.
Macerich-the retail company that operates Queens Center mall in Elmhurst-purchased Atlas Park after the facility fell into foreclosure following the economic crisis that gripped the nation in 2009.
As previously reported in this paper last December, Atco Properties and Management- which previously owned Atlas Terminals and developed Atlas Park-had planned to work with developers on creating a second shopping center on the remaining section of Atlas Terminals.
Several businesses that occupied the area-including K-9 Caterers and Tiles Unlimited- were relocated as preparations were made for an environmental cleanup of the site, a known brownfield.
However, according to Community Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri, the shopping center plan eventually fell through.
