Wildflower Studios | BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and developer Wildflower Ltd. have unveiled the first look and design features of a planned 650,000 square foot studio in the Astoria neighborhood of northwest Queens. As the first deeply engaging environment for filmed entertainment content of its kind in New York City, the $400 million Wildflower Studios building will establish a hub for the creation of film, television, augmented reality, and virtual reality. The state-of-the-art facility is projected to create more than 1,000 daily union jobs. 

Through both cultural programming and a strategically planned mix of interconnected spaces; including a range of stages, production-support areas, open and private offices, and lounges – the design of Wildflower aims to foster the best creative work possible by providing opportunities for human connection. 

Located along Steinway Creek in Queens, the project sits on land previously home to a Steinway & Sons piano storage facility. 

Wildflower’s partners include Adam Gordon and Matthew Dicker of Wildflower Ltd.; Robert De Niro, Raphael De Niro, Jane Rosenthal; and Bjarke Ingels of BIG. The team is hoping to begin construction next year. 

The construction comes at a time when the film and television industry in New York is growing at a rapid pace. The plans are being filed with the New York City Council, which is expected to review the application for minor height amendments and community waterfront access. 

Representatives from Wildflower Studios have been meeting with local officials and incorporating community feedback on the proposal for months. Wildflower will provide parking, public water access, and land conservation areas for the neighborhood to enjoy. 

“It has been incredible to work with such an iconic cast of collaborators from all aspects of visual media to imagine the future of film production in New York City. Due to the unique space conditions of working on an urban site, we were challenged by Wildflower to distill all the physical, logistical, technical and experiential aspects of film production into a one of a kind vertical village for film,” said Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner and Creative Director at BIG. 

"We view this project as an opportunity to transform not just how film and media are produced now and going forward, but also as an opportunity to transform how a content production facility engages its surrounding community and the world at large,” added Adam Gordon, managing partner at Wildflower Ltd. 

“This studio is a testament to the strength and future of the New York film and television production industry. Completion of this project ensures that future generations of producers, directors, writers, and storytellers will play a vital role in filmed entertainment in New York for years to come,” said Robert De Niro. 

“The city of New York is the perfect place to bring our vision to life. This studio is a huge step in continuing to grow the media and entertainment production industry in New York,” said Raphael De Niro, a top real estate broker at Douglas Elliman Real Estate and owner of the Greenwich Hotel. 

“Our work in the greater New York area film industry is exemplified by this studio. We are creating a place where we can bring people together to celebrate the industry while empowering and training future generations of producers, actors, and artists,” said Jane Rosenthal.

About Wildflower Ltd.

Wildflower Ltd. is a narrative-driven real estate development firm based in New York City. With a mission to create immersive studio spaces for the new creative class, partners Adam Gordon and Matthew Dicker challenge the assumptions on which film studios have been built in the last century and apply forward-thinking architecture and design to accommodate for the needs of content creators moving forward. 

About Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro is an American actor, producer, and director. He founded Tribeca Productions and the Tribeca Film Center with Jane Rosenthal in 1989, and the Tribeca Film Festival with Rosenthal in 2001. Tribeca's A Bronx Tale in 1993 marked De Niro’s directorial debut, and in 2016 he directed Tribeca’s The Good Shepherd. 

De Niro is also involved with the restaurants Nobu and Tribeca Grill (which he co-owns with Broadway producer Stewart F. Lane) the Greenwich Hotel (located in Tribeca) and the restaurant inside the hotel, Locanda Verde (run by executive chef and co-owner Andrew Carmellini). 

He is a recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, AFI Life Achievement Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Golden Globe Award, and the Cecil B DeMille Award, and has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. 

De Niro was cast in the 1974 film The Godfather Part II, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His longtime collaboration with director Martin Scorsese earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film Raging Bull. 

About Raphael De Niro

Raphael De Niro is a broker with real estate firm Douglas Elliman in NYC. In 2004 he founded the De Niro team within the firm, which led to an average $250 million in sales every year.  He is a partner at TriBeCa’s five-star Greenwich Hotel (established in 2008) where he has undertaken a principal role in the property’s design, construction and day-to-day operation. As a Founding Board Member of the New York Residential Agent Continuum (NYRAC) (launched in 2018 by and for residential real estate agents), De Niro is strongly committed to elevating the status of NYC’s residential brokerage profession.  This is done by promoting advocacy, best practices, collegiality, education and ethics in the consumer’s best interest. 

De Niro’s family has been in the industry for three generations. In the 1960s and 70s the De Niro name became synonymous with some of the early warehouse-to-residential SoHo conversions.

As well as New York, De Niro and his partners are working on possible Miami-area expansions through The Greenwich Hotel and Nobu Hotel & Residences.

About Jane Rosenthal

Jane Rosenthal is an American film producer who has been active in the industry for more than 30 years. Jane has distinguished herself as a leading film producer with a roster of both critically and commercially acclaimed work. Rosenthal produced one of the highest grossing comedy franchises of all time —Meet the Parents (2000), Meet the Fockers (2004), and Little Fockers (2010). Rosenthal most recently produced the Emmy-nominated Netflix limited series When They See Us, directed by Ava DuVernay, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. Other recent credits include Academy Award-winning Bohemian Rhapsody (2018); Grammy Award-winning documentary Quincy (2018); Analyze This (1999); its sequel Analyze That (2002); the Academy Award©-nominated Wag the Dog (1997); and critically acclaimed films Marvin’s Room (1996); and About a Boy (2002).

Rosenthal cofounded Tribeca Productions with Robert De Niro in 1989, and the pair founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001 following the September 11th attacks.

Rosenthal has been featured in Variety’s “Women in Showbiz” and The Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment issues.” She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and has been honored by NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the Museum of the Moving Image, The Matrix Awards, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. In 2011, she was presented with the Jane Jacobs Medal for Lifetime Leadership from the Rockefeller Foundation. She is also on the board of Global Citizen.