Truman Show eat your heart out: Hollywood creates 235-acre town within a film and TV production facility called Trilith near Atlanta with its own school, shopping mall and homes for 5,000 people
A Georgia film studio has created a new 235-acre town for its workers, boasting its own school, shopping mall, and fitness studio and with homes for 5,000 people to live there in the works.
Trilith, which is set just outside of Atlanta, is said to be inspired by Seaside in Florida, a New Urbanist planned community which became the filming site for The Truman Show.
The town sits inside a 900-acre studio complex, which already been home to big-budget films such as 'The Avengers: Endgame' and 'Ant-Man' along with the television show 'The Walking Dead.'
And there are now plans for an eventual population of 5,000 - 500 people are already living there - with 1,400 town houses, apartments and housing units, and microhomes being built. The town's first restaurant just opened with plans for 11 more.
Georgia has become known as the 'Hollywood of the South' due to its 30 percent tax rebate for film and TV production - and has grown that reputation into a $9.5 billion industry, according to Atlanta magazine.
Rob Parker, president of Trilith Development, LLC, said: 'We are excited about making a spectacular gathering place where professionals in the creative industries – and anyone who appreciates storytelling and innovation – will feel inspired and at home.'
He told Fast Company of the project: 'Originally the idea of it was to do a mill town, a company town, which just meant get some housing here because people have got to live somewhere, and we want to make it convenient. And it grew into, if you’re going to build a town from scratch, what would you do?'
The new town of Trilith, built for workers at Pinewood Atlanta studios, boasts a stunning resort-style pool
There are plans for an eventual population of 5,000 and 500 people are already living in the new town
British company Pinewood had opened the production facility in 2014, originally planned as a one-stop shop for filming in the US as opposed to the broken-up system in Hollywood.
It boasted offices, a media center, soundstages, prop houses and set builders all on one site to create big budget blockbusters.
The studio was financed by a joint venture between Pinewood and River's Rock, an independently managed trust of the Cathy family, Atlanta's billionaire founders of Chick-fil-A.
In August last year, the local investors started the process of buying out its UK partner in the hope of turning the site into much more than just production studios.
'We've been producing movies at this amazing Atlanta studio since the day it opened in 2014,' said David Grant, VP of Physical Production of Marvel Studios. 'We look forward to producing more great work at Trilith and expect to benefit from the new world-class facilities, technologies and expanding business ecosystem.'
Parker added: 'We’re not talking about some kind of fantasy nirvana. We’re talking about a real town, with the grit of a real town, the authenticity of a real town, all different housing types, all the way down to making sure all of your teams can afford to live here.'
Trilith recently opened its first restaurant, the locally-owned Barleygarden Kitchen & Craft Bar, with plans for many more bars and restaurants
The town is home to the huge Piedmont Wellness Center, with the focus on young creatives in the media
Studio owners now want to develop new shows and big budget films at the site with local workers living there in the new town. Pinewood UK has officially left the project which was renamed last week as the town Trilith.
The name, an architectural term referring to structures like Stonehenge with two stones supporting a third laid across the top, is a nod to its UK heritage, bosses say.
Georgia brings in approximately $2.7 billion each year in direct revenue from filming, according to Variety.
Production in the state also supports 92,100 jobs and pays those workers close to $4.6 billion in total annual wages.
Trilith's residents have access to 15 miles of nature trails, 54 acres of forest and 19 landscaped parks, including a dog park
The name, an architectural term referring to structures like Stonehenge with two stones supporting a third laid across the top, is a nod to its UK heritage, bosses say
As many as 1,400 town houses, apartments and housing units, and microhomes are being built
Residents will be able to enjoy all the local amenities, with one restaurant already open, a 60,000-square-foot fitness studio and a school from Kindergarten to 12th grade.
There will even be a dedicated University of Georgia MFA program in Screenwriting to encourage budding film writers to join the local industry.
By next year, developers want two hotels, a cinema, and an 18,000 square foot sound stage to host events in the town, and a retail center is also underway.
Residents will be able to enjoy all the local amenities, with restaurants already open, wine shops a 60,000-square-foot fitness studio and a school from Kindergarten to 12th grade
More than half of the new town is dedicated to green space and forest, making it the largest geothermal community in the country
By next year, developers want two hotels, a cinema, and an 18,000 square foot sound stage to host events in the town, and a retail center is also underway
More than half of the new town is dedicated to green space and forest, making it the largest geothermal community in the country.
Trilith's residents have access to 15 miles of nature trails, 54 acres of forest and 19 landscaped parks, including a dog park.
Bosses hope the entire project will create more than 7,000 jobs.
Ant Man, Avengers: Endgame, Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 and Captain America: Civil War were made at the high-tech facilities
Bosses say the town is modeled on European cities and residents can 'live, work and play' within a seven to ten minute walk
There will even be a dedicated University of Georgia MFA program in Screenwriting to encourage budding film writers to join the local industry
The idea is that people can work on productions for months or years at a time without having to live out of a suitcase and having everything they need on hand.
Parker said the town is modeled on European cities and residents can 'live, work and play' within a seven to ten minute walk.
The design is intended to appeal to young creatives with a focus on wellness and outdoor access.
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