Buffalo Studios announces pause in operations - studio plans on hold

Buffalo Studios Press Release

Just over three years ago, Buffalo Studios announced plans for an $80 million project to bring a major film studio to the Queen City. Since then, the organization has worked with multiple investors, lending institutions and local stakeholders to bring the project to fruition. However, since then, the COVID pandemic has wreaked havoc on materials and building costs, and interest rates have hovered at their highest level in years. Both factors combined to balloon the project cost to roughly $120 million. These market conditions have severely impacted the fundraising environment and have led to the decision to pause our endeavor to bring these studios to Buffalo.

The determination to pause operations was made as the team has been left with a deficit of roughly $5 million in cash resources. Despite numerous attempts to resolve the issue, and having already raised over $100 million, the persistent economic headwinds made it apparent that the project required an official pause.

Buffalo Studios had sought to create a premier operation that would have brought a large-scale Hollywood TV/film studio lot to Buffalo. It also would have remediated a brownfield site and offered a major redevelopment for south Buffalo. While we remain hopeful that the project will be resumed and we can fulfill our vision to help entrench the entertainment industry in Buffalo/WNY while creating strong social impact, there is no set timeline at this juncture.