Monday, July 09, 2007

Movie studio to confirm $500 million deal

PORT ALLEN (AP) - Developers of a nearly $500 million movie studio in West Baton Rouge Parish will announce final plans today for the biggest film infrastructure project yet to receive preliminary state approval.

River Studios and FilmPort will create a 925,000-square-foot complex on 150 acres of the old Allendale Plantation, a riverside setting about five miles west of the old Mississippi River Bridge on U.S. Highway 190.

State officials confirmed Friday the project is pre-certified, meaning an application for state tax credits has been approved but spending must be audited and the film facilities in place before the credits are issued.

If the project proceeds as planned, Baton Rouge lawyer Lewis Unglesby, who negotiated the deal with the state Division of Administration, says River Studios could recover $198 million of its construction costs in claims against its state tax liability.

Source: Associated Press.

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