New Mexico Film Office qualifies eight new production facilities

The new facilities will allow the state to capture additional productions, create more jobs, and inject new revenue into local businesses

By Priyanca Rajput 23 Feb 2023

New Mexico Film Office qualifies eight new production facilities — The Studios at Journal Centre. Credit: NM Film Office

New Mexico Film Office director, Amber Dodson, has announced the expansion of eight new qualified production facilities throughout the state.

Productions utilising qualified facilities in New Mexico, as per the state’s film incentive, are eligible for a 5% uplift on qualifying expenditures. With these additions, the list of Qualified Production Facilities is now 21 statewide.

These new production facilities, including stages, support space, and a movie ranch, will further fuel the state’s booming industry. The newly qualified stages in the Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces areas, in addition to the new movie ranch in the town of Stanley, add to New Mexico’s already robust offerings to the industry. Soundstage infrastructure has been in short supply globally since the COVID-19 pandemic and is a critical component in fostering New Mexico’s film, television, and digital media ecosystem. These facilities will allow New Mexico to capture additional productions, create more jobs, and inject new revenue into local businesses.

Albuquerque will be adding two new qualified production facilities, Hanover Studios, located in the westside of Albuquerque, and the Studios at Journal Center in central Albuquerque. Hanover Studios offers a newly built 25,000 square foot stage. A second duplicate stage is planned. The Studios at the Journal Center includes a 23,146 square foot stage, a 21,000 square foot mill space, dock access, a 10,000 square foot space for production offices, as well as plentiful parking.

Seeing people here working nonstop, we create a lot of jobs, and with the film industry I have been able to maintain my staff,” The Studios at Journal Center Vice President Brian Fantl said. “There is a complete department that is here - simply because filming is here.”

The Studios at Journal Center is a stellar example of economic development in New Mexico, specifically in creating a new opportunity for transitioning industries. With the decline of printed newspapers and rise in digital news outlets, the Albuquerque Journal rejuvenated underutilized spaces to create studio facilities that are in high demand by the film industry.

The Santa Fe area now boasts two more qualified production facilities with Santa Fe Midtown Studios and Stanley Ranch, a standing set movie ranch located just outside of Santa Fe in the town of Stanley. Stanley Ranch sits on 480 acres, includes an original house built in the 1920s, and has already been utilized by television series such as “Roswell” and “Waco.”

Las Cruces, in its inaugural year as one of the top 10 “Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker” by MovieMaker magazine, expands their filming infrastructure with three new qualified production facilities, Calcot/Hayner Soundstage, which includes over 30,000 square feet of space, Mirranda Soundstage, a 7,000 square foot facility, and SFM, a 9,984 square foot facility. These structures are owned by 828 Productions, an official state film partner that has committed to spending $75 million dollars in New Mexico over 10 years.

Stanley Ranch, NM Film Office

“We’re excited to bring three new Qualified Production Facilities online in Las Cruces and do our part in furthering the growth of cinematic infrastructure in Southern New Mexico,” Todd Lundbohm Founder and CEO of 828 Productions said.

Quixote/SSPS is a newly qualified production facility in the southern part of Albuquerque. It includes a 7,700 square foot space for filming and a 5,800 square foot warehouse.

“Additional qualified production facilities in the Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces areas bolster our thriving industry by attracting more projects, jobs and economic benefit to the state. Simultaneously, local property and business owners benefit too, as the demand for stage space and movie ranches is at an all-time high,” Dodson said.

A complete list of qualified facilities can be found on www.nmfilm.com.