Lights, camera, action.
The Louisville Gardens’ transformation into a film + television studio is hitting fast forward thanks to $10 million in Kentucky General Assembly funds and a new contract with three partners.
Here’s a preview of what the Louisville Gardens Sound Stages will bring to Derby City:
- 40,000 sqft of production space across two sound stages to shoot feature films, commercials, and short-term projects
- 40,000 sqft of office space, to be leased to production companies during shooting
- 50+ full time jobs, paying $58/hour
Three partners are behind the development project, each with a different interest in bolstering Louisville’s grand entrance to the film + TV industry.
- Unbridled Films is the KY-based production company behind the 2020 thriller “Don’t Tell A Soul,” starring Rainn Wilson. The company is currently working on a scripted series titled “Cornbread Mafia.”
- Sylmar Studios operates a 16,000-sqft production facility in Los Angeles.
- Poe Companies is a real estate developer headquartered in Louisville, with properties all over the country.
Construction is expected to begin later this year, and the project is expected to cost a total of $70 million.
Bonus: Louisville Gardens has a long and storied history, including when it was an armory and an event venue. It even hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for a talk in 1960.
