Plum Productions is converting a 104-year old Edgewater firehouse into the shooting stage and post-production facility Firehouse Studios, which they’ll market for rental as well as utilize for their own in-house productions when completed this fall.
Owner Tim Plum closed on the 6,000-sq. ft. building at 1545 W. Rosemont Ave. on April 28 in a $390,000 deal with the city.
“It’s three times the space we have now,” says Plum. “We’ll be able to do more and cooler stuff.” Plum Productions is currently based in an Andersonville loft with a 20×30-ft. stage.
Architect Joel Berman’s design for Firehouse Studios includes a 22×60-ft. main stage, with 15-foot ceilings, plus a 20×23-ft. working modular kitchen stage, with interchangeable white, wood grain and steel surfaces on the first floor.
The second floor will house production offices and four Final Cut Pro and After Effects stations.
Plum is spending $550,000 to restore the white glazed brick walls and hardwood cabinets, replace the pressed tin ceiling with period-style micro-perforated soundproof tin, redo and soundproof the floors, add two skylights and a metal deck, and convert the full side lot into a garden.
