Ringling College plans Newtown movie soundstage

Aiming to become one of the nation’s top film schools, the Ringling College of Art and Design plans to build a professional soundstage and commercial post-production complex east of its Sarasota campus.

The 30,000-square-foot building will encompass nearly an entire square block between Cocoanut and Central avenues, on the south side of Dr. Martin Luther King Way to 25th Street, in the Newtown neighborhood.

The project, estimated to cost up to $7 million and slated to open in 2016, will elevate Ringling’s filmmaking program, already considered among the 25 best in the nation, president Larry Thompson said Friday.

“We are competing with the USCs and UCLAs and NYUs film schools, that’s the quality of our program,” Thompson said. “Where we are going with this, and this unique arrangement, will really put us at the very top level.”

The college will partner in the project with Semkhor Networks, whose owner David Shapiro co-founded the school’s Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab in 2010, and his business partners, BHS Properties.

Ringling has acquired about 3.5 acres of commercial and residential lots for the project, a major push east into the Newtown community. BHS will develop the complex, and Ringling will own it.

Sarasota Mayor Willie Shaw, whose district encompasses Newtown, called the complex a “catalyst” for development along the MLK corridor, which he terms “the most integrated street in all Sarasota.”

“This collaboration brings energy, it brings economics because it is within our enterprise zone,” Shaw said.

The complex, still in the planning stages, will serve both academic and commercial purposes.

The college will conduct filmmaking classes, and its students will work on commercial productions by producers who rent the facility.

Ringling will use a $1.75 million grant from the county, and Semkhor and BHS properties will fund the rest of the project, estimated by Thompson to cost $5 million to $7 million. BHS principals include local investors Brad Baldwin, Eric Howell, Higgins Gayheart and J.B. Baldwin, according to the school.

Shapiro, a New Yorker with a background in website development, will operate and manage the commercial aspects, while offering professional-level experience and connections for students who work on those productions, the school said. He and Sarasota producer Sam Logan have previously worked with Ringling to bring in filmmaker lectures, classroom and real-world experience to the academic program.

“The soundstage is the natural next step in the growth of the Ringling College’s Studio Lab, and will allow the region to work more closely with top-tier filmmakers, entertainment talent and local artists,” Shapiro said.

Consulting on the design will be director Roman Coppola, son of famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and the 2014 commencement speaker at Ringling.

Ringling’s 6-year-old filmmaking program has been listed on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 25 Film Schools” list three times in the past four years.

The project comes as the 1,300-student college — with a 48-acre campus and more than 110 buildings — works on several other major initiatives.

Ringling plans a new $16 million library on the southeast corner of Bradenton Road and MLK, a 46,000-square-foot structure that will replace the smaller Kimbrough Library on campus. Construction is expected to begin in 2016.

The college has raised $22.5 million to renovate the historic Sarasota High School building, leased from the school district, to create a contemporary art museum and visual arts education center.

Ringling has spent $925,000 so far this year to acquire homes and empty lots bordering the campus for future use.

The proposed complex will include a 25,000-square-foot soundstage, the area used for filmmaking and television production. Another 5,000 square feet will be used for such post-production operations as dubbing bays, professional editing suites and Foley stage for sound effects, plus offices, classrooms and a private screening room.

Thompson said the complex will be one of the few of its kind in the state. With lower rental costs than studio hubs like New York or Los Angeles, it should be a magnet for film and TV programmers, he said.

“We’re not going to become Hollywood, but we can become Hollywood east-southwest, in terms of what can happen.”

EARLIER: The Ringling College of Art and Design plans to build a professional soundstage and commercial post-production complex east of its Sarasota campus.

The 30,000-square-foot building will encompass nearly an entire square block between Cocoanut and Central avenues, on the south side of Dr. Martin Luther King Way to 25th Street, in the Newtown neighborhood.

The project, estimated to cost up to $7 million and slated to open in 2016, is aimed at enhancing Ringling's filmmaking program, already considered one of the top 25 in the nation.

In announcing the project this morning, Ringling president Larry Thompson said the start of the school's Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab in 2010 has generated interest both for its academic programs and from the professional film industry.

“The new facility will expand our ability to bring in content production opportunities, from initial preproduction to final post, and give our students a look and experience at real world entertainment production,” Thompson said.

The college will partner in the project with Semkhor, whose David Shapiro co-founded the school's studio lab, and his business partners, BHS Properties.

Ringling has acquired about 3.5 acres of commercial and residential lots for the project. BHS will develop the complex, but Ringling will own it.