Actor Kevin Costner is partnering with a southern Utah developer to bring a $40 million-plus film studio to St. George, Utah.

That’s the biggest news that emerged from St. George Mayor Michele Randall’s State of the City address Tuesday to the crowd at the Dixie Convention Center.

“It’s going to be a massive, massive addition to the performing arts industry here in St. George,” Macrae Heppler, a partner in a local title company, promised in a video aired at the event.

Brett Burgess, president of Development Solutions Group, Inc., is partnering with the Hollywood actor and filmmaker to build Territory Film Studios in a 500-acre industrial complex near the St. George Regional Airport. It will feature two sounds studios, a production warehouse for set design and office space — a combined 152,750 square feet. The plan for the studio also calls for offering public tours.

It will further include a “Costner-themed” restaurant that will also do catering, although Burgess doesn’t know many of the details yet.

“That’s kind of Kevin’s passion,” Burgess told The Salt Lake Tribune after the mayor’s remarks.

Costner’s interest in building a studio was borne out of his frustration last year in finding a warehouse to shoot some interior scenes when he was filming “Horizon: An American Saga.” The four-part series, which will depict the settlement of the West during the Civil War era, employed a cast and crew of more than 400 people and pumped an estimated $90 million into the St. George economy.

“Horizon is the largest film production that’s ever been filmed in Utah,” said Joyce Kelly, sales manager for the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office, who helped Costner scout possible filming sites in southern Utah for the series.

By all accounts, Costner fell in love with the area and expressed interest in building a studio in St. George. Burgess entered the picture when Greater Zion officials called him to assist Costner in finding a temporary location to film some interior shots.

Tourism officials say the studio will be another bright light in southern Utah’s business firmament. What’s more, Kelly said, it is sorely needed.

“We have 4,000 students in film schools in higher education throughout Utah, and we have very little incentive for them to remain here,” she said. “So our students graduate and end up having to go elsewhere. Hopefully, our students will now be able to graduate and work on more films at the studio. And the film industry actually pays a wage that will sustain families, which is important.”

Construction on the studio is expected to get underway next fall.