GE Produces Nearly $29M for Toronto's Filmport

TORONTO-A bid to increase Ontario’s role in the movie industry has received a big boost from GE Capital Real Estate. A $28.5 million construction-to-permanent loan will allow Toronto Film Studios to launch Filmport, a 2.5 million-sf conglomeration of entertainment, industrial, office and retail space planned for 45 acres of Port Lands owned by the Toronto Economic Development Council.

Despite the diverse nature of Filmport, the venture is clearly focused on its celluloid center. Besides 500,000 sf of studio space, the surrounding commercial elements outside the gates are envisioned as home for post-production companies, union and guild offices, film schools and ancillary restaurants and retail. In backing the $275 million undertaking, GE Real Estate GM Alex Sieber calls Filmport an “innovative, well-conceived” project, adding that, “we have developed considerable respect and appreciation for all involved in the deal.” That roster includes TFS and its partners, the Rose Corp. and ComWeb Corp., as well as TEDCO and supporters Lytton Financial and CIBC World Markets. “This team will surely continue to be a part of a very positive venture for the city of Toronto,” says Sieber.

Upon securing the GE loan, TFS announced it will break ground next spring on Filmport’s initial structure, a $50 million office building that will serve as headquarters to TFS and house related operations for other film-oriented firms. The architect is UK-based designer Will Alsop and Quadrangle Architects of Toronto, whose futuristic concept includes a curved curtain wall exterior and 280,000-sf of interactive space in an 11-story frame. “As master planning architects for Filmport, we are thrilled to be collaborating with Will Alsop on this key building,” Quadrangle principal Les Klein says in a release unveiling the design.