Vancouver's own Ryan Reynolds has added another big-ticket investment to his arsenal.
According to a report from Variety, the A-list actor will be part-owner of a 1.2M-sq.-ft production hub slated for Markham.
The ownership group for the studio development includes Reynolds’ production and advertising company, Maximum Effort, and Markham-based real estate development firm Watford Group. Watford is leading the investment raise, which Variety reveals is already halfway committed.
Upon completion, the facility will be “a fully-integrated production studio for film, scripted and unscripted reality television, drama series, live action, and animated feature films.” The property will also contain a technical incubator and a “virtual production campus” providing vocational training.
“Maximum Effort has grown in ways and directions that we’ve never imagined,” Reynolds said in a statement. “To be launching a fund and building a 1.2M-sq-ft studio facility in Ontario is both mind-boggling and humbling. Regardless, I’m excited to expand our storytelling capabilities in new directions and to bring more production work to Ontario.”
Although an exact date has not been provided, construction on the development -- expected to be the largest film and TV production hub in Canada -- will begin shortly. A completion date has yet to be specified.
The project is one of the first to draw from a $1.5B private equity fund that will focus on real estate, sports, media, and venture capital.
In true entrepreneurial fashion, the forthcoming studio is not the only venture Ryan Reynolds has on the go. Earlier this month, news broke that the Vancouverite -- alongside Toronto real estate development company Remington Group -- is among the bidders for the Ottawa Senators, valued at $655M in 2022, according to digital sports data purveyor Sportico. The results of the bid have not yet been released.
