Two New Studios Planned for Fayette

Two new movie/television studio facilities are being proposed for Fayette County, already the home of Pinewood’s huge 18-soundstage complex. Planned for a 24-acre spot on Highway 138 north of Fayetteville, Cinema South Studios will initially house six soundstages, each nearly 20,000 square feet. Workshops, offices, a full-service post-production facility and other amenities are also included in plans for the 200,000 square foot establishment, with an estimated cost of $58 million. Groundbreaking is hoped for by the end of this year, with a projected opening in December 2019. Five thousand new jobs are estimated to be created by work on and at the facility over the next five years, so they say.

Meanwhile, Founders Studio is in the works about eight miles southwest of there, on approximately 90 acres on Highway 74 in Tyrone. Initially, two soundstages catering to television production (along with offices, flex areas, yadda yadda) are to be part of the development; four additional soundstages are possible down the road. David Harbin (son of state Senator Marty Harbin) and Nathan Dockery (head of the Peachtree City-based Dockery Group construction firm) are partners behind Founders, which will be located between Jenkins Road and Sandy Creek Road, near Flat Rock Middle School. They’re jumping the ordinance/permit hurdles now; no construction timetable announced as of yet.