Angel Garcia says Mansfield, though at first glance an unlikely home for the epicenter of an expansion of the film industry into North Texas, is the perfect location for just that. The brains behind Super Studios Mansfield, Garcia is the director who has plans (and the go-ahead from city leadership) to construct a 72-acre “city in a city” on a piece of land that has been vacant for generations.

Super Studios Mansfield was green lit by the city council Feb. 27. The project, a micro studio with multi-use development attached, is expected by Garcia to be done in about two years, and city leaders are already predicting it could help spur the transformation of Mansfield from a sleepy neighborhood community to a tourist destination.

For Garcia, he hopes to see Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Paramount Plus and Peacock originals using the space, as well as smaller production films and series.

Sound stages, production offices, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, retail, hotels, apartments and even a trade school will all come together to form what Garcia calls “a film studio designed by filmmakers for filmmakers.”

“I don’t say that to be cute,” Garcia told the Star-Telegram. “Film crews always complain about things that we wish were different, so why not do it different ourselves?”

To do that, he said, he spoke to people who work in all different areas of film production. Going to the folks who work in camera, lights, electric, wardrobe, set, post-production and every other department he could think of, Garcia asked industry veterans to make a list of things they wish were different about film studios. And he got answers — from the way lighting is rigged to the placement of set workshops and ramps and doors.

Angel Garcia conceived the plan to build Super Studios Mansfield, a studio with multi-use development attached.
Provided

For the city, Mayor Michael Evans said it could be a boon to the hopes of turning Mansfield into a household name for movie and streaming series fans.

“One of the things that we are attempting to build here in Mansfield is an innovative mindset,” Evans said. “We’ve been known for years as a place where we attracted industrial companies and the industrial industry, which is good. We learned, though, a few years ago that in order for you to be a vibrant city, in order for you to be a destination city, you’re going to have to diversify your portfolio.”

Evans said the city is done with attracting industrial developments. It’s now working on bringing the medical, biotechnology, dining and entertainment industry to Mansfield.

“That’s who we want to be,” Evans said.

He wants to see the city become an “innovation corridor.”

Jason Moore, the executive director of the Mansfield Economic Development Corporation, said the city has already heard from other businesses and developers like that who want be neighbors with Super Studios Mansfield. The city is currently looking to bring in a sports stadium, and both he and Evans said it wouldn’t be surprising to see more interest in coming years from others in the film industry.

“I think that Texas has been starving for the very industry that we’re bringing to Mansfield,” Evans said. “ ... Why not Texas have its own movie industry? There’s been a monopoly on the film industry for literally 100 plus years in California.”

Garcia said he was surprised to realize that nobody else had already started development of film studios in Mansfield. It’s in a perfect position, he said. Close to the airport, about 30 minutes from both downtown Fort Worth and Dallas, plenty of lakes, close proximity to diverse landscapes and other places that filmmakers can go when they need to shoot on-scene instead of in the sound stage.

“I pulled my hair out trying to figure out all the negatives because you have to do that and then tackle it,” Garcia said. “To be ready for the storm, for the generator to explode, for the actor to not be in the mood and just not show up.”

As far as location of the studios and the opportunity to make it his own, Garcia said he couldn’t find any problems. Tax incentives could be improved at the state level, but that’s something he expects to see change over time.

Plans for Super Studios Mansfield include sound stages, production offices, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, retail, hotels, apartments and even a trade school.
Concrete Vision Provided

Evans said the industry will bring in about 2,000 jobs. Garcia can see that happening, too, especially with the trade school that will be built there.

“It’s something I wish I had when I started off,” Garcia said. “If you’re good with cameras, you should be shooting. If you’re good with designing for wardrobe, you should be in wardrobe. This will teach you how.”

A trade school education is all Garcia figures someone needs to get into the industry, assuming they have opportunities along the way to practice the skills they’re learning and build a reputation.

“I rarely hire someone because of where you graduate,” he said. “I call people you’ve worked with. I want to know your track record.”

By having the trade school on the same property as the studio, students will have opportunities to get work on productions there while getting their education. They’ll also have a pipeline right into the industry through the trade school and Super Studios Mansfield.

With the project’s completion being about two years out, Garcia said it may be a little while before Mansfield sees a migration of full-time film industry workers setting down roots in Mansfield, but it is inevitable. With the proliferation of streaming services, studio space is being booked solid across the nation. In states like Georgia, Louisiana and Nebraska, studios are booked well in advance.

If the studio is quickly successful, as he hopes it will be, he expects workers who specialize in the production phase of filming, like sound, camera and wardrobe specialists, to realize they can buy a home in Mansfield and have steady work through the studios.

As for Garcia, he’s not planning on developing the studios and then selling them off to someone else.

“The idea is to build it and run it, to make it a legacy project,” Garcia said. “Leave the world something.”