BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Studios’ Hollywood dream has been put on hold.
A new film studio expected to open in South Buffalo announced Tuesday that they would be “pausing” the project due to a lack of funding.
Originally launched in 2021 to serve Buffalo’s television, film and gaming industries, the project came with an $80 million price tag. It was supposed to be a 27-acre site with 11 buildings and create 22 jobs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the project’s value ballooned to $120 million.
“As interest rates started going up and up and up, so much of that just investment capital evaporated,” said Matt Fleckenstein, the project’s founder. “Investors started to become incredibly, much more conservative with the cash.”
Buffalo Studios was able to raise over $100 million, but it remains $5 million short of its goal and had to pause plans as a result.
Despite today’s news, Tim Clark, commissioner of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission, said the region’s film industry is booming.
That’s because Western New York offers a tax incentive that hands up to 40% of the film’s budget back to the director.
“It’s the most lucrative place in the country right now to shoot,” Clark said. “It’s an amazing bargain to come to Western New York.”
Buffalo Studios hopes that bargain can lure investors just enough to one day revive its Hollywood dream.
An incentive they hope lures investors just enough to one day revive Buffalo Studios’ Hollywood dream.
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