Langley joins big players in entertainment with new sound stages
Martini Film Studios puts Langley up there with some big players in the fast-expanding world of made-in-B.C. entertainment projects.
The new facility in the former Starline Windows plant on 96 Avenue in Port Kells features no less than eight sound stages. It is the brainchild of Gemma Martini, and almost literally happened overnight because the Martini family also owns Starline. They already owned the land and the building, and they saw a good business opportunity. With some renovations, they are now in business.
The studio was shown off to guests at a special opening event on Tuesday. As the North Langley community director for the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, I was pleased to be invited to attend and am very excited to see firsthand this major boost to the Langley and B.C. economy.
The B.C. film industry is responsible for a full 60 per cent of all such work in Canada - a figure considerably higher than I would have believed. The Martini studio itself is expected to create over 600 jobs. Gemma Martini says there is a strong demand for sound stages in the Lower Mainland, where most movie and TV work in B.C. takes place,
Given that so many movies and TV episodes are shot on location in Langley or in nearby communities, the studio will be a natural fit for directors who also need to shoot scenes indoors in a studio setting.
Those who have been around Langley for a while may remember when the Martinis wanted to move Starline to the former McDonald Cedar site in Fort Langley. At that time, the mill buildings were still in place, although it had closed.
The community rose up against the plan and in early 1999, the longest public hearings ever held (up to that time) by Langley Township council heard from hundreds of people. Most were opposed, even though the site had been an industrial property for decades.
It is now home to Bedford Landing, a development which has completely changed Fort Langley.
The rejection by Township council way back when may have been a blessing in disguise for the Martinis. Starline continued to manufacture windows at the 96 Avenue site for many years afterwards, before moving to a new larger facility in Surrey's Campbell Heights area. Thus the Martinis held onto a valuable building and piece of land - and now it has a brand new use that fits in very well with the current trajectory of the B.C. economy.
As a footnote, none of the members of Langley Township council in 1999 remain on that body in 2017. Three members of the current council, Mayor Jack Froese and Councillors Angie Quaale and Charlie Fox, were in attendance at the Tuesday opening, as were the two Langley MLAs, Rich Coleman and Mary Polak, along with Surrey MLAs Peter Fassbender (a longtime personal friend of the Martinis) and Marvin Hunt.
The new facility in the former Starline Windows plant on 96 Avenue in Port Kells features no less than eight sound stages. It is the brainchild of Gemma Martini, and almost literally happened overnight because the Martini family also owns Starline. They already owned the land and the building, and they saw a good business opportunity. With some renovations, they are now in business.
The studio was shown off to guests at a special opening event on Tuesday. As the North Langley community director for the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, I was pleased to be invited to attend and am very excited to see firsthand this major boost to the Langley and B.C. economy.
The B.C. film industry is responsible for a full 60 per cent of all such work in Canada - a figure considerably higher than I would have believed. The Martini studio itself is expected to create over 600 jobs. Gemma Martini says there is a strong demand for sound stages in the Lower Mainland, where most movie and TV work in B.C. takes place,
Given that so many movies and TV episodes are shot on location in Langley or in nearby communities, the studio will be a natural fit for directors who also need to shoot scenes indoors in a studio setting.
Those who have been around Langley for a while may remember when the Martinis wanted to move Starline to the former McDonald Cedar site in Fort Langley. At that time, the mill buildings were still in place, although it had closed.
The community rose up against the plan and in early 1999, the longest public hearings ever held (up to that time) by Langley Township council heard from hundreds of people. Most were opposed, even though the site had been an industrial property for decades.
It is now home to Bedford Landing, a development which has completely changed Fort Langley.
The rejection by Township council way back when may have been a blessing in disguise for the Martinis. Starline continued to manufacture windows at the 96 Avenue site for many years afterwards, before moving to a new larger facility in Surrey's Campbell Heights area. Thus the Martinis held onto a valuable building and piece of land - and now it has a brand new use that fits in very well with the current trajectory of the B.C. economy.
As a footnote, none of the members of Langley Township council in 1999 remain on that body in 2017. Three members of the current council, Mayor Jack Froese and Councillors Angie Quaale and Charlie Fox, were in attendance at the Tuesday opening, as were the two Langley MLAs, Rich Coleman and Mary Polak, along with Surrey MLAs Peter Fassbender (a longtime personal friend of the Martinis) and Marvin Hunt.
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