Ottawa film hub no longer needs $40 million loan from City of Ottawa

A rendering of a proposed new film hub in the city's west end. The city's finance and economic development committee approved a $40-million loan for the project on Monday.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Film Office and TriBro Studios no longer need a $40 million loan from the City of Ottawa to build a new film hub in Ottawa's west-end.

In March, the finance and economic development committee approved a 30-year loan to help complete a new state-of-the-art facility on Woodroffe Avenue, south of Hunt Club Road.  The 8.4 hectare facility would feature four 20,000 square-foot soundstages, plus 25,000 square feet of workshop space and 50,000 square feet of production office space.

The non-profit Ottawa Film Office is teaming up with TriBro Studios to build the "Soundstage Campus & Creative Hub Loan."

In a memo to Council on Thursday, General Manager of Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Stephen Willis says both the Ottawa Film Office and TriBro's owner Peter Apostolopoulos have told staff that the loan financing from the city is no longer required.

"OFO advised that the previous advantages of obtaining loan financing from the city (competitive interest rate and ability to start the project quicker) are no longer relevant given the impacts of COVID-19 on both the prevailing interest rates and the project times."

Willis says Apostolopoulos has indicated that while the loan financing is no longer required, TriBro is still moving forward with the project.

The film complex is scheduled to open in late 2021.

The National Capital Commission owns the land inside the Greenbelt. It will lease the land to the film office, which will sublease it to TriBro studios.