Another movie studio has ambitious plans for ITP Atlanta

Hollywood is again setting its sites on Atlanta, this time a new studio complex in South DeKalb.

Valhalla Film Studios is transforming a former paints and wallcovering warehouse into a state-of-the-art movie facility, according to CrossRoadsNews. The studio is making quick work of the warehouse overhaul, having just bought the property in March.

The site is due south of East Atlanta Village, tucked between Moreland Avenue and Interstate 285.

Purchased for $6.7 million, the 53-acre property houses a century-old brick schoolhouse, which will be converted into offices, and a 175,000-square-foot warehouse, which will become the production offices.

Work is also well underway on three sound stages and an additional office building, slated for completion before the facility opens for filming in January. Plans call for an investment of more than $70 million.

With a total of nine sound stages planned, Valahlla intends to create the "largest sound stage in Georgia shooting films and television shows," studio principal James Schulz told CrossRoadsNews. He added, perhaps optimistically, "We are going to create the best studios in North America here."

In the future, Schulz and local leaders envision that the studio will foster development of residences, retail, and even hotels in the area to serve crews and talent using the facility.

• Movie company making home in South DeKalb [CrossRoadNews]