SAN MARCOS, Texas — Despite pushback from environmentalists over concerns about the area's water supply, construction on an 800,000-square-foot film studio in San Marcos is scheduled to begin Feb. 4, according to new state licensing documents.
The facility will be called Hill Country Studios and will include 12 sound stages, four workshops and office space. City documents say the studio will employ 22 people full-time, but that could double once it is fully built.
The whole project is set to cost about $20 million.
Hill Country Studios first proposed the TV, film and streaming studio last year. At the time, the company said the project would be the largest of its kind in Texas. It has garnered the City of San Marcos and Hays County incentive deals that could be worth more than $6 million.
In August, the San Marcos City Council annexed the land, which is located near the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and rezoned the property to "less intense" zoning classifications. The studio will be located on the existing La Cima development, near West Centerpoint Road, West Wonder World Drive and RM 12.
Previously released plans for Hill Country Studios call for it to rise on 75 acres of a 209-acre plot in three phases:
- Phase 1A would include seven production stages, two workshops and a welcome center
- Phase 1B would include 250,000 square feet of office space
- Phase 2 would include five additional stages, two workshops and support space
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