A Los Angeles-based entertainment company has plans to build a $30 million film and television studio in Fort Smith to support the movie industry in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors recently approved the sale of about 20 acres to TGE Global Entertainment Inc. The property is bordered by Wintergreen and Mahogany avenues in the southeastern area of Chaffee Crossing.
The 92,000-square-foot development will have six sound stages, totaling about half of the project's area, as well as office spaces for film production, a screening room, editing suites, a back lot for outdoor filming and a cafeteria, according to TGE. There are also plans to build an amphitheater and event space for public gatherings.
TGE Spark Studios, named after a banker who built the New Theatre in downtown Fort Smith, is expected to create as many as 150 jobs. TGE Chief Financial Officer J. Michael Smith said in a statement that the facility will be the only one of its kind in a 550-mile radius, the nearest studio being in New Orleans. He estimated it will have a $32 million annual economic impact on the Fort Smith community.