Negotiations end, Santa Fe Studios a go

SANTA FE (KRQE) - A new $6 million studio for Santa Fe County has finally been approved after five years of negotiations between the county and Santa Fe Studios.

Santa Fe Studios has agreed to buy 65 acres of land from the county and build and eco-friendly, multistage production facility.

The studio will be built off of NM 14, near the state prison. It will also partner with local colleges and groups to provide film training opportunities, and provide 500,000 hours of above minimum wage jobs.

The county has agreed to pay for about $3.5 million worth of infrastructure improvements to the property and to lend the studios $6 million toward construction of the project.

The project was originally pitched as a four stage, $40 million complex, but it has been scaled backed to a two stage, $16 million project for now.

Santa Fe Studios has also been approved to receive a $10 million economic grant from the state's department of finance.