The Fort Worth City Council adopted an ordinance during the May 20 meeting to nominate property at 2601 Spirit Drive, in the Alliance area of Fort Worth, to be designated by the office of the Governor as a qualified media production location within Media Production Development Zone No. 1.
The specifics
The Media Production Development Zone is administered by the Texas Film Commission to encourage the development of permanent moving image production sites in Texas to support the local media industry and strengthen the local tax base, according to council documents.
Jack Barkley, director of industrial leasing at Hillwood, spoke to council about how the company has helped add jobs to the workforce in aviation, power plant workers, and locomotive mechanics.
He said that Tarrant County College is now training students for work in the film industry.
“In less than a year, Tarrant County College had produced 30 graduates from the Fort Worth Film Collaborative program and now there are 200 students enrolled in that program today,” Barkley said.
The background
City Council passed an ordinance on Dec 10, 2024, to designate a location at 2701 Spirit Drive, to be in the MPDZ, which allows for a two-year sales tax and use tax exemption for construction, maintenance, expansion, improvement, or renovation of a media production facility at a qualified media production location in a designated area.
Alliance Center East No. 2 is transforming its expansive 200,000-plus-square-foot facility into a soundstage and production hub to accommodate both large-scale film productions and long-term television tenants, offering state-of-the-art infrastructure and services for the media industry, according to council documents.
The details
A recent filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows a $1.83 million project was filed on May 5 for new insulation added to a production studio space, as well as new office and warehouse restrooms in an existing industrial building at 2701 Spirit Drive. The same kind of work will happen at 2601 Spirit Drive, with an estimated cost of $1.98 million, according to a state filing.
Barkley called this the second half of the first phase.
What else?
The MPDZ will bring local construction jobs, administrative roles, security personnel, logistics staff, and production crews, according to council documents.
Barkley said the two locations on Spirit Drive will have more than 450,000 square feet of space, which is believed to make them the largest media production facilities under one roof in the state of Texas.
Barkley said that Taylor Sheridan’s television production, "1923" had more than 1,100 different crew members and more than 1,000 were Texans.
“This helps promote a long-term home for these types of jobs in the city of Fort Worth,” he said.
