Activity beginning at Shelburne film studios

By Greg Bennett

The Coast Guard

NovaNewsNow.com

There’s activity happening at the former navy base in Shelburne …with plans for a lot more in the future.

The new owners of the facility, Jim Kendrick and Mary Barstow see miles of opportunity on their 173-acre purchase, now called Seacoast Film Production Studios.

Their challenge now is to start drawing people to the site and to do that, the partners have begun plans to develop a miniature golf course, convenience store, drive-in theatre, a recording studio and other facilities to bolster the main focus of the business, which Kendrick says is providing a venue for film making.

Within the first few days of the sale going through they were promoting the film studio and have plans for trips to Europe to sell the facility to filmmakers, noting that the 60 per cent tax credit for film producers in Nova Scotia is feeding an industry buzz in the U.S. and beyond.

Plans are also being made to repair some of the buildings and amenities; including the swimming pool at the former base.

While acknowledging that the film studio will be the cornerstone of their efforts to bring back business to the facility, Kendrick and Barstow also plan to focus on moving a small candle making business to the area and opening a small retail operation there.

The retail convenience store was set to open on Tuesday with several people already hired to look after its operation.

While their plans have begun moving ahead, Kendrick says they are still looking for more ideas from the community to help reinvigorate the site.