Written by new-contact on May 24, 2012. Posted in On Location

Disney plans major ABC Studios development in northern Los Angeles

A new high-tech development from the Walt Disney Company for ABC Studios has moved closer to becoming a reality in northern Los Angeles. The company plans to invest heavily on new facilities next to its existing Golden Oak movie ranch.

Covering nearly 60 acres, the complex would include a dozen sound stages, writer bungalows and offices. It’s set to be one of the few new large studio facilities to have sprung up in California over the past ten years since states like New York and Louisiana established themselves as major US production hubs, the LA Times reports.

We saw we could create what hasn’t existed since the 1930s – a major studio facility adjacent to a large-scale movie ranch.

Richard Ballering, ABC Studios

Richard Ballering is Vice President of Production Operations for ABC Studios and spoke to the outlet: “We saw we could create what hasn’t existed since the 1930s – a major studio facility adjacent to a large-scale movie ranch.

“It creates a better economic model that hopefully provides us greater opportunities to shoot in Southern California. By pairing sound stages with what the movie ranch has to offer, you’re creating efficiencies, which makes it more economical to produce television shows here.’’

California lost a lot of production over the past year because of its initial reluctance to extend its incentive programme on a long-term basis. If approved, Disney’s facility could be opened in 2016. It would create nearly 3,000 jobs and pump more than half a billion dollars into the local economy each year.