When Brad Dean decided to let Warner Bros. rent his newly purchased warehouse in Cumberland, he wasn’t looking to bank on the deal. He was looking to take part in a new experience.
So instead of using the 60,000-square-foot building for his warehousing business, he let the film company turn the space into a soundproof studio for the production of the television series “Waterfront.”
After 35 years in warehousing, Dean thought, “Hey, this would be something different.” And it has been.
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But now that CBS has decided not to air the drama series, Dean’s space is up for grabs. He would like to keep renting it as Dean Studios, because it is fully outfitted for production.
“I would hate taking down these sets, because they put so much money into it,” he said.
The studio has a full grid system for hanging lights from the 22-foot ceiling. It has offices for the production crew. It has dressing rooms, four loading docks and 100 parking spaces.
“If we could get another company in here to do a film, that’s great,” Dean said. “If not, we’d have to make a decision to convert it back into a warehouse.”
Steven Feinberg, director of the R.I. Film & Television Office, said he hopes the space won’t have to become a warehouse again. For one thing, there have been 11 productions in the state in the past year, and he is expecting more in 2007 and 2008.
In addition, Feinberg said he knows of only two other studios in the state – one in a converted pet food warehouse in East Providence, being used for the Showtime drama series “Brotherhood,” and the other in the Cranston Street Armory, in Providence, which was outfitted for Disney’s film “Underdog.”
The state-owned armory isn’t being used for film production, Feinberg said, and it might not be available for future productions, because the state has other plans.
“I do think there’s a need for more [studio space],” he said.
Still, Feinberg isn’t worried. “Anyone who’s innovative and forward-thinking,” he said, “will take advantage of opportunities that come along” and meet the demand.
Jeff Caruso, for example, decided to make half of his 44,000-square-foot building in Providence available to production companies. He uses the other half for his classic-game manufacturing company, Crisloid Inc.
Caruso said he realized film companies could be prospective tenants after he rented out a 13,000-square-foot block this summer, for production of the film “The Education of Charlie Banks.”
The film companies are “quick hits,” because he never knows how long they will rent the space, Caruso said. But on the positive side, they always pay their bills, and “the more prospects you have to look at your space, the better off you are.”
To help market Dean Studios, Feinberg said, his office sent an e-mail to the 1,500 to 2,000 production companies on its contact list. Dean said he’s already gotten some phone calls from Touchstone and Disney, though no one has committed to renting the space.
Meanwhile, Dean is using part of his Cumberland building as office space for his Dean Warehouse Service Inc.; the offices wouldn’t interfere with any productions, he said.
Asked about the return on his investment in the Dean Studios, Dean, who owns 12 warehouses in northern Rhode Island, replied: “If I had my warehouse business out here, it would probably be equivalent.” But given the upgrades CBS made, he added, “I probably gained.”
