After an 11-year run in the Foch Street Warehouses, a local film company has found a new home in one of Fort Worth's hottest areas.
Red Productions' new offices and studios are now open at 329 S. Main St. — part of the Texas Film Commission's new Media Production Development Zone. The project is a joint development by Red Productions and developer Kelly Capital Partners.
"We enjoyed growing in the West Seventh [Street] district, and now we really look forward to being back in the South Side," Sanders says.
Also in the same development is Backlot Studio and Workspace, a coworking space Red Productions first launched on Foch Street in 2013. The open space of the studio had the added benefit of transforming from a collaborative work area to a functional soundstage. But the lease officially ended on Feb. 18, meaning it was time to bid farewell to Foch and set up a new space on South Main.
The move has tripled the size and capabilities of Backlot and Red Productions. While Backlot will continue providing private workspaces and monthly hot-desk rentals, the new location also has a versatile space for events and photography sessions, with taller clearings to allow larger film sets to be installed.
A tax incentive by the Media Production Development Zone helped defray the cost of building out the new space on South Main Street. This economic development incentive in the Near Southside of Fort Worth is the second location in Texas, after Austin, to receive this designation. The hope is to attract other filmmakers and media companies to the Fort Worth area.
"Red Productions is really a product of our city," Sanders says. "We look forward to being a part of this new Media Production Development Zone."