MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, in conjunction with EUE/Screen Gems Studios, held the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Florida’s newest film and television studio – the EUE/Screen Gems Studio Miami, at 50 N.W. 14th Street. At the event, it was announced that Viacom will occupy the entire studio, which will serve as a production hub for Viacom and Viacom International Media Networks’ (VIMN) global entertainment brands, including Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.
“With the announcement of the arrival of Viacom to the Omni area, the nation’s sixth largest broadcasting and cable company, the City of Miami is sending a strong signal to the film and television industry that we are open for business. Building on strength of the Miami brand and leveraging our immensely popular location as a top destination for business and pleasure, the film studio will attract new opportunities and employ hundreds locally,” said Marc D. Sarnoff, City of Miami Commissioner and Chairman of the OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency. “Talent that has been raised in Miami can now stay in Miami. The establishment of the EUE/Screen Gems Studio will further develop Miami’s creative industry, one of the fastest growing and most exciting sectors of South Florida’s economy,” said Sarnoff.
The Omni CRA bought the land and the building in 2011. Since construction began in 2014, hundreds of construction jobs have been created. EUE/Screen Gems Studios will lease the facility for 10 years with an option to renew for nine years. The annual lease payment will be $100,000 plus an 11 percent gross revenue share. Few, if any, CRAs in the State of Florida have capitalized on public private-partnerships to create a source of revenue, apart from tax increment financing (TIF), to invest back into the community.
“Today, we have taken another major step toward revitalizing the Omni neighborhood within the City of Miami. We have transformed a dilapidated building into a thriving economic engine that is creating hundreds of good-paying jobs, increasing economic development within the Omni area and revitalizing Miami’s film and television industry,” said Pieter Bockweg, executive director of the Omni CRA. “Together, the Viacom announcement and the launch of the film and television studio provide another major commercial component necessary to make the Omni a thriving entertainment district, where people can live, work and play.”
The new studio, with two fully operational film sound stages of 15,000 square feet each, a 50-foot roof, 40-foot grid height, and approximately 15,000 square feet of offices, editing suites, talent support space, and accessory rooms, will serve productions of all sizes, including major movies, television series and independent films.
"We are grateful for the vision and investment from Omni CRA to build a top-tier studio and post-production facility here in Miami,” said Chris Cooney, chief operating officer of EUE/Screen Gems. “This is a groundbreaking partnership for us and for Viacom, designed to capitalize on the best of Miami—its terrific talent pool and Viacom’s expertise in production. EUE/Screen Gems Studios brings a high level of service skills to facilitate their production. The City of Miami and specifically the Omni CRA is able to kick start an exciting redevelopment of the district as a hub for the creative arts.”
In addition to the studio, the Omni CRA has spearheaded numerous other economic development and quality-of-life enhancement projects, including the financing of the Port Tunnel, the multi-million dollar investments in Margaret Pace Park and Museum Park, as well as the establishment of the Omni CRA police force.
About the Miami Omni CRA
The Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency was created to preserve and enhance the tax base of the Omni Redevelopment Area. The CRA is successfully accomplishing this goal by removing longstanding slum and blight conditions, and where feasible, by funding rehabilitative activities, upgrades to infrastructure, facade improvements, and job training and economic development programs. The CRA’s mission is to improve the quality of life for residents and stakeholders within the redevelopment areas through activities and programs that create new job opportunities, substantially improve the quality of the housing stock, and improve the physical appearance of the redevelopment area.
