The city that never sleeps is fast becoming the city that never stops shooting.
Across the five boroughs — and spilling into New Jersey and Long Island — New York City is undergoing its biggest production infrastructure boom in decades. From Manhattan’s West Side to the waterfronts of Brooklyn and Queens, developers are racing to meet the global demand for soundstages, spurred by ballooning content needs, competitive state incentives, and a post-strike rebound that’s bringing big shows back to the Big Apple.
At the center of it all: Sunset Pier 94, a $350 million, six-stage, Hollywood-grade complex rising near West 54th Street on the Hudson River. When it opens in early 2026, the project will mark a new chapter in New York’s evolution from cinematic backdrop to full-fledged production powerhouse.
“New York is thriving while California is struggling,” says Robert Gilman, CPA and head of the real estate group at Anchin. “Developers are reimagining what’s possible for studio space — and the demand is very real.”
Hollywood East Gets Its Glow-Up
The transformation didn’t happen overnight.
According to the latest NYC Film and Television Industry Economic Impact Study, New York’s screen sector supports 185,000 jobs, generates $18.1 billion in wages, and contributes $81.6 billion in annual economic output. That growth is being accelerated by $700 million per year in state production incentives, $45 million in postproduction credits, and an additional $5 million earmarked for upstate New York — all funded through 2036.
The result: a massive wave of new construction and reinvestment across the region.
Sunset Pier 94: The Manhattan Marvel
Few projects better capture this new energy than Sunset Pier 94, developed by Hudson Pacific Properties, Vornado Realty Trust, and Blackstone — the same Los Angeles–based team behind Sunset Studios.
Built on a 1,000-foot-long pier overlooking the Hudson River, the complex features six soundstages with 36-foot-high ceilings, underground parking for production trucks, and expansive back-office and postproduction space. The pier will also offer 25,000 square feet of public waterfront, new restrooms, and a community hub at its western end.
The developers will pay escalating lease rates, starting at $900,000 per year and rising to $2.8 million, while the city contributes $74 million toward long-term upkeep. When completed, Sunset Pier 94 is expected to create 1,700 jobs and deliver $6 million in annual economic impact.
“Investments like these grow the production sector, support local businesses, and help more New Yorkers get jobs,” says Pat Swinney Kaufman, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Sunset Pier94 Studios in Manhattan
The Outer Borough Boom
Outside Manhattan, the real expansion story is happening in Brooklyn and Queens, where millions of new square feet of production space are transforming former warehouses into cutting-edge creative campuses.
Bungalow Projects, backed by Bain Capital, is developing two major studio complexes:
Echelon Studios Red Hook, a six-story, 246,000-square-foot facility with four soundstages, a 56,000-square-foot underground garage, and panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty.
Echelon Studios Bushwick, even larger at 351,000 square feet, with six 18,000-square-foot stages, 40-foot clearances, and an 87,000-square-foot subterranean parking structure.
“We designed our studios so every production need — from wardrobe to post — can happen within one building,” says Susi Yu, Bungalow’s co-founder. “These are standalone ecosystems for filmmakers.”
Rendering of the proposed Echelon Studios in Bushwick
Queens Rising: East End Studios and the New Production Frontier
If Brooklyn is where New York’s creative culture thrives, Queens is where its production infrastructure is booming.
Leading the charge is East End Studios (EES), which this fall opens its 350,000-square-foot Sunnyside campus, with 91,500-square feet of stage space — a modern complex featuring four large soundstages, high-end production offices, outdoor terraces, on-site parking and an 8 bay on-grade loading dock for full-sized trucks.
The Sunnyside facility is designed with sustainability and technology in mind, built to meet the needs of next-generation streamers, game studios, and virtual production teams. Each stage is sound-isolated with advanced acoustic systems and full LED lighting packages, while the facility’s rooftop terrace doubles as a shooting location with skyline views.
East End Studios isn’t just betting on New York. The company — already operating four major facilities in Los Angeles — is now positioning itself as a bi-coastal brand, connecting talent and production pipelines between the two biggest media markets in the U.S.
“Our vision is to create a creative corridor between L.A. and New York,” says East End Capital’s Jonathon Yormak. “Sunnyside represents the next generation of purpose-built studio space — flexible, scalable, and tech-forward.
East End Studios – Sunnyside opening next month in Queens
From De Niro’s Dream Factory to Long Island’s High-Tech Soundstages
The borough’s other star attraction is Wildflower Studios, the $1 billion, 11-stage facility in Astoria co-developed by Robert De Niro, his son Raphael De Niro, and partner Adam Gordon, with design by Bjarke Ingels Group.
Billed as “the only high-performance production facility built for 21st-century storytelling,” Wildflower combines 765,000 square feet of soundstages with a 224-seat commissary, fitness center, and landscaped terraces. It’s already home to CBS’s Elsbeth and aims to host everything from major streaming dramas to large-scale feature films.
Meanwhile, over in Long Island City, Innovo Property Group’s Borden Studios offers 232,000 square feet of production space, 70,000 square feet of office space, and a rooftop terrace with Manhattan skyline views — serviced by MBS Group, the world’s largest production support company.
Wildflower Studios
