Cinelease Studios has opened a new 112,400-square-foot film production facility at 21 Caven Point Ave. in Jersey City, welcoming Gov. Phil Murphy recently for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. — Edwin J. Torres/ NJ Governor’s Office
By Joshua Burd
New Jersey’s first purpose-built film studio has opened its doors in Jersey City, seeking to capitalize on the state’s efforts to attract and subsidize the television and movie industry.
Located at 21 Caven Point Ave., the facility known as Cinelease Studios – Caven Point includes 70,000 square feet of prebuilt stage space, along with workshop and flex space for a total of 112,400 square feet. State officials say the studio expects to book two to four major television and film shoots a year, thanks in part to a $100 million program that provides tax credits to production companies.
An entity known as Criterion Group acquired the building in 2019 with the intention of building out a large-scale studio space.
“When we reinstated the film tax credit in 2018 and expanded it late last year, this is exactly the type of project we envisioned,” said Gov. Phil Murphy, who was on hand last week for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility. “New Jersey is where filmmaking began, and we are quickly regaining the reputation as a premier location for both film and television production.”
Cinelease Studios features 40-foot ceiling heights and column-free sound stages, according to a news release. Attracting two to four productions to the facility each year would put an estimated 200 to 400 film crew technicians to work and support ancillary businesses such as catering, lumber, waste removal, equipment rentals, janitorial services and security.
“New Jersey has long been a meaningful and oftentimes striking backdrop for filmmaking from independents to the modern streamers and blockbusters,” said Gannon Murphy, general manager of Cinelease. “As Cinelease Studios, Caven Point opens its doors to film and television, our studio clients, filmmakers and content creators no longer see New Jersey as background. We are now the leading character.”
The state’s film tax credit allows studios to subsidize 30 percent of their production expenses if they meet certain guidelines. The incentive goes up to 35 percent in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer and Salem counties to encourage more activity in a part of the state that traditionally has not attracted as much film production.
“The New Jersey motion picture and television industry has grown exponentially in the last few years, and the arrival of Cinelease Caven Point, a state-of-the-art studio complex, creates a complete production environment here,” said Steven Gorelick, executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.
State officials noted that, in 2019, film and television productions in the state resulted in more than $420 million in economic activity. With a host of new movies, television series and commercials, as well as the addition of studios like Cinelease, New Jersey is on track to surpass that number in 2021.
The studio will begin leasing immediately.
Developers eyeing large-scale studio projects in New Jersey, spurred by popular film tax credit
