Press Release

Plans for a new television and film production studio complex, to be built on the Long Island City waterfront, were unveiled today.
A project of Silvercup Studios, the over two million square-foot mixed-use development will include eight new soundstages, other production and studio support space as well as residential apartments, commercial office space and a home for a cultural institution.
Known as Silvercup West, the project today officially began the city’s seven-month public Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP). Silvercup Studios is co-owned by Alan Suna and Stuart Match Suna.
Silvercup CEO Alan Suna said, “Silvercup continues to play a leading role in the city’s effort to attract film and television production. The new complex will bolster our industry while also meeting other important objectives such as creating housing, opening the waterfront for public access, generating additional revenue for the city and state and creating thousands of well-paying jobs.”
The new project is to be built on a six-acre waterfront site just south of the Queensboro Bridge and six blocks west of Silvercup Studios’ main facility. With an additional eight soundstages, the project will add to New York City’s thriving television and film production industry, while providing waterfront access for residents and workers and creating thousands of jobs.
Designed by world-renowned British architect Lord Richard Rogers, Silvercup West will include a mix of uses including residential space (1,000 units), office and retail space (665,000 square feet), a catering hall (40,000 square feet), a cultural institution (100,000 square feet), and a public waterfront esplanade and plazas.
The $1 billion Silvercup West will create an estimated 2,200 construction jobs, 3,900 permanent jobs, and an additional 2,500 indirect jobs.

The Silvercup West facility is adjacent to the landmark property known as the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company building. Constructed in 1892, the building originally was part of a larger establishment that produced much of the terra cotta ornament popular in New York architecture and across the country in the early part of the 20th century. As part of the redevelopment of the site, Silvercup Studios will be restoring the landmark for future reuse.

“The expansion of Silvercup Studios is crucial for the television and film production industry. With added studio space, more productions that may have been filmed elsewhere will now take advantage of all the benefits of filming in New York City, which we like to think of as the best backdrop in the world,” said Stuart Match Suna, president of Silvercup Studios. “In addition, we are creating a 24/7 live, work and leisure community. The public will enjoy new restaurants and retail opportunities while having a magnificent view of the Manhattan skyline.”
The project will also incorporate environmentally sustainable “green building” features such as grey water retention and reuse, a green roof, and an energy efficient building design.
The signature structure is designed by the internationally celebrated Richard Rogers Partnership, a U.K.-based architectural practice known for its work on the Centre Pompidou in Paris, London's Millennium Dome and the new Barajas Airport in Madrid.
“We are delighted to have been selected by the Suna brothers to design the concept for this mixed-use facility on such a prominent site in New York. The design makes a significant contribution to the ongoing redevelopment of the East River waterfront – we have designed what we believe will be an exciting development, creating a new landmark for Queens. Silvercup West will provide excellent residential, retail and cultural facilities, more studio space to accommodate New York’s thriving television and film production business, and will offer the public access to an entirely new and vibrant waterfront amenity,” said Lord Richard Rogers.
Silvercup Studios opened its first studio in 1983 in the former Silvercup Bakery and quickly established itself as the largest independent, full-service film and television production facility in the northeast. Today, with its expansion of Silvercup Studios East in 1999, Silvercup Studios operates more than 400,000 square feet of space and has 18 studios, on-site production offices and extensive set, prop and wardrobe storage areas. No other studio in the region offers as diverse an offering of facilities.
www.silvercupstudios.com