East End Capital Scores $193M in Financing for Movie Studio in Sunnyside, Queens

By Marty Raminoff 

East End Capital got a jump start for its Queens Project by securing financing.

As reported by Crain’s NY, the Midtown-East based investor scored $193 million in financing from Canyon Partners and JPMorgan.  The funds will be utilized to redevelop a 3-acre industrial facility in Sunnyside, Queens, to create    a movie studio.  East End Capital will bulldoze the 143,600-square-foot industrial building currently on the property, and  turn it into a 275,000-square-foot building, for use as a movie studio, as per filings made to the New York City Industrial Development Authority.   A 225-car underground parking garage will also be constructed at the site, which is located at 48-02 48th Ave. in Queens.  Marketing materials distributed by East End Studios, which is the subsidiary of East End Capital, show the project will include three movie stages taking up 75,000 square feet of space, and another 125,000 square feet of office, support and production space.  Also, there will be an additional 15,000-square-foot rooftop stage, with views of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Per Crain’s, East End Capital said construction is already underway, starting last week when the company obtained the financing.  The project is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2025.  The firm said it has already begun working to fill the space.  Jonathon Yormak, a founder and the managing principal of East End Capital, said that the company expects the space to be fully leased out before the project is completed.  He added that they already have been in contact with several potential clients. 

Besides for the aforementioned financing, the project also qualifies for tax incentives from the New York City Industrial Development Agency, East End Capital told Crain’s.  NY has been working to bolster media production within the state and the NYS Film Tax Credit was expanded to reflect this goal.  The state’s Post-Production Tax Credit program, which is funded at $45 million a year through 2034, aims to help create and maintain film industry jobs and productions.  Film and television series projects which comply with the state requirements may be eligible for a 30 percent tax credit on qualified post-production expenses.  Pat Swinney Kaufman, media and entertainment commissioner for NYC’s mayor’s office, expressed enthusiasm saying the planned Queens facility will spur economic activity and add jobs to the city. 

East End Capital had purchased the property at 48-02 48th Ave. in January 2022, paying $41.7 million. Currently, this space is the only one being developed in NYC by East End Capital.  The company is, however, also now developing four studio spaces in Los Angeles, CA, consisting of a total of 2.2 million square feet.

Canyon Partners, the Dallas-based direct real estate lending company which provided the financing for the project, commented to say that it has invested roughly $950 million across $3.3 billion in projects in New York.  JPMorgan did not provide comment.