Knickpoint Ventures has topped off The Fields Studios, Chicago’s first purpose-built film studio that is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024. It boasts nine sound stages on two lots, totaling 132,000 square feet of sound stages and over 350,000 square feet of creative and production offices, plus mill and support space. The Fields Studios offers the largest sound stage in Chicago and is the latest addition to the mixed-use redevelopment of the 20-plus acre, 1.5 million-square-foot former Marshall Field warehouse property on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
The development is in part due to the state’s commitment to the growth of the local film business by introducing a development subsidy to spur the growth of additional, critical sound stage infrastructure such as The Fields Studios.
“The Fields Studios is an important driver of jobs and revenue for the city and the state, and further elevates Illinois’ position as a viable and desirable production option for the entertainment industry. We welcome Knickpoint Ventures’ innovative approach, industry expertise and commitment to Chicago and its meaningful addition to our film production capacity,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker.
The new studio development will be the focus of the iconic adaptive reuse of the former Marshall Field warehouse, which also includes a mix of retail, residences, office and studio space. The redevelopment of the project into a film studio will bring the property back to its original manufacturing roots with jobs for those in the surrounding neighborhoods, with a modern twist. The campus will offer an engaging and efficient onsite environment that is integrated into a vibrant northwest corridor with its mix of shops, dining, arts and entertainment in a historic, architecturally distinctive and walkable neighborhood. The Fields is located at the nexus of several important neighborhoods, including Avondale, Logan Square, Hermosa and Belmont Cragin, which all share a unique cultural backdrop and a diverse, highly qualified workforce.
“Knickpoint Ventures is combining our expertise in commercial real estate and entertainment production to create a modern, mixed-use studio campus that brings a best-in-class facility to Chicago,” said Zain Koita, founder and managing partner of Knickpoint Ventures. “The Fields Studios meaningfully connects with the public in both its physical design and the business opportunities it will bring to the surrounding community.”
As experienced entertainment industry producers, Knickpoint Ventures conceptualized The Fields Studios to ensure an optimal environment to meet the creative, logistical and functional demands of modern content manufacturing. Nine sound stages, eight NC-30 rated sound stages, ranging from 12,000 to 18,000 square feet, plus a 5,000-square-foot stage ideal for commercial shoots, music videos, and other smaller productions, will offer varying flexible stage configurations designed with fully collapsible interior stage doors that can create a 36,000-square-foot stage with ceiling heights up to 35 feet to the grids. This marks the largest combined sound stage in Chicago. The sound stages will have silent air and heat, ample stage power, major bandwidth and more. The studio campus will have approximately 150,000 square feet of support and mill space for surface-level base camp areas for production vehicles, multiple mills, support space for all production departments, dressing rooms and surrounding land for future back lot construction. There also will be acres of parking for base camp and personnel.
“The Fields Studios can accommodate a large-scale production with significant set design spacing needs with plenty of support for logistic demands, as well as smaller boutique projects, in an energetic campus environment that is designed to encourage collaboration and creativity,” said Shawn Papazian, Knickpoint Ventures partner, a long-time entertainment studio facility president and film and TV producer. “Our approach is to provide facilities that are purpose-built for today’s stringent production specifications while allowing for future capacity for increased technological needs. We bring a producer’s perspective to the physical studio business so that our clients can produce top-quality content in a connected, urban, campus-style location while taking advantage of Chicago’s high-quality crews and infrastructure, diverse natural and urban backdrops, and global transportation access.”
