The borough’s house of blockbusters is about to get bigger.
Kaufman Astoria Studios, the 94-year-old dream factory responsible for hundreds of city-made movies, will open a new 18,000-square-foot sound stage by 2016, officials said.
“We’re just trying to do as many things as we can to really grow the studio and the whole neighborhood,” President Hal Rosenbluth said. “We’re thrilled. It’s a buildup of things.”
The $20 million expansion project, called Stage N, will mark the 10th stage for the landmark studio and will grow to about the same size as Kaufman’s Stage K, which is an enclosed production studio that opened in 2010.
The stage will allow directors free reign to film without worrying about erratic weather and wall restrictions.
The spacious 40-foot-high enclosed building will be built next to the studio’s only outdoor soundstage, which opened in December.
Construction is slated to take up to 14 months to complete and officials hope to break ground by early next year.
Productions including “Men in Black 3,” “Sesame Street” and “Orange is the New Black” have been shot at Kaufman, which once set the stage for classic Marx Brothers movies.
“What they do on these stages, these producers — they make magic,” Rosenbluth said. “We’re just trying to provide the facilities that make them want to come to New York and keep doing that. We have something special. We have the granddaddy of all the facilities.”
