Called Albuquerque Studios, the $74-million, 500,000-sf project will encompass 50 acres and house eight sound stages, production offices and support space for motion picture and television producers, according to Linda Koffman, a partner in the real estate practice group in the Santa Monica, CA-based law office of Bryan Cave LLP which represents Pacifica Ventures. The development site at 5650 University Blvd. is about 80 minutes flying time from Los Angeles and five minutes from Albuquerque International Airport.

"We are proud to be the first major anchor to this [Mesa del Sol] development," says Culver Studios chairman Hal Katersky. The first phase of the project broke ground last week. That 28-acre phase includes 224,000 sf of office and studio support space and two of the eight sound stages. "We should be open for business in January 2007 with completion [of the first phase] by spring 2007," Katersky tells GlobeSt.com.

Katersky says there were no other bidders for the development site. "This was a straight real estate deal between Forest City and us," Katersky says. Forest City Covington LLC is the master developer for Mesa del Sol. The land seller of record was Mesa Del Sol LLC, a division of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.