The answers to the questions below were provided by the Quartermaster Outpost Studios LLC development team in response to questions from the public. The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is reproducing the responses with light edits for clarity and conciseness.

If you are investing in and creating entertainment jobs, would you commit to using IATSE Local II labor?
Yes. Quartermaster Outpost will fully engage 17 guilds and unions that serve the motion picture industry. Our partners have existing relationships with these labor groups already and work with them regularly on all of their productions. Importantly, however, productions that will be developed, financed and produced at Quartermaster Outpost Studios will be a mix of fully union and independent projects. We view independent short form, new media and low-budget feature films as critical building blocks to creating a truly local and self-sustaining industry. In order to join IATSE, crew needs to log many hours of experience on independent productions. By ensuring that Quartermaster Outpost Studios includes a variety of these projects a year, we are able to truly engage new labor and grow the local workforce. We will partner with local 476 to provide crucial training to labor, even on projects that are not fully union, and the local will always be aware of and ensure we use the appropriate contracts for each project.  

Additionally, we are committed to hiring a diverse workforce including minority and women workers and vendors that represent the diversity of the City of Chicago. Furthermore, we will make it a priority to hire residents that represent the diversity of the City.  

Will there be underground parking, parking built into the building design, or only surface parking?
There will be no underground parking. Currently 100 indoor parking stalls are planned. There will be the same number of existing surface parking spots on the south building, which is 200. A remote parking plan will be created when necessary.  

Will you be demolishing any part of the Site A building?
No. We are going to restore the existing structure and bring it back to its original glory. The goal is to have the building look as good or better than the day it was built. We honor the history of the building and want it to live on for generations to benefit from all its potential.

Do you have a restorative justice focus?
A restorative justice program for the community requires collaboration with various stakeholders, including community members, law enforcement agencies, courts, schools, and local government officials. We are committed to working with the community and doing our part to contribute to restorative justice.  

Is the entry gate necessary?
No, but an aesthetic secure entry into the property would be. We would love to collaborate on a solution. A secure entrance will be needed for a few reasons: overall property security; confidentiality – film studios demand secure sites to avoid leads; controlled entrance – control authorized and unauthorized from entering; aesthetic appeal – can enhance the aesthetic appeal of the property to create a professional, welcoming environment.

What percentage of the property is housing vs. commercial?
The current development plan includes 40 apartments. These apartments will be available to the following: all residents in the neighborhood looking for a new and fun place to live, people working in the building, including artists and cast members/crew. The apartments are planned for the rooftop of Site A.  

We intend to use the rooftop residential for a mix of artist residents, local community tenants, and extended-stay accommodations to host non-local talent coming to work here.  

570,000 SF of Site A will be commercial 50,000 SF of Site B will be commercial  

The residential plan is a convenience for the on-site production crew to stay in the McKinley Park area in their free time, providing a boost to the local economy. Affordable housing is a right for employees working in the building.

What mitigation plan will you have in place to offset pollution created by the production trucks coming into and out of the studio?
The facility will have electric vehicle charging stations that cars and trucks can utilize. The proposal will also create landscape buffers in areas that will help with air quality. This proposal plans to incorporate the following: encourage hybrid or electric vehicles; plant trees and vegetation; encourage and execute sustainable practices; provide No Idle Time and Fuel Efficiency standards.  

Your proposal plans for outdoor parking for 300 vehicles and 25 semi-trucks, as well as indoor parking for 100 vehicles. How do you plan to mitigate the environmental and noise pollution associated with these vehicles?
The surface parking south of Site A appears to accommodate close to 200 cars; we would leave that the same size. The loading dock on the south elevation of Site A appears it can handle 6 semi-trucks; we would leave that the same size. Site B will have to handle perhaps three to four semi-trucks. Indoor parking would accommodate about 100 parking stalls.  

We anticipate approximately 250 cars coming and going each workday by employees. We could offer as an incentive only electric vehicles will be offered on-site parking. There will be daily employee car traffic; there will not be daily truck traffic. Truck traffic (5 – 6 trucks) would only occur every three months: trucks will arrive on one day, park on-site for 3 months, then get loaded back up and leave. Trucks would be parked at the loading docks on the south side of the property and out of view of the public.  

What kinds of youth programs do you, or will you, engage with?
We plan to continue and start new relationships to build formative and meaningful youth programs, including but not limited to internships and co-ops, to provide real life career experience for high school and college students. Our goal is to introduce the film industry to youth and teach them skills so they can learn about the film production ecosystem to determine if they may or may not want to pursue a career in this field.  

There is a plan to build a studio near 79th Street and Stony Island Avenue. Would two studios on the South Side compete or complement each other?
No one on the development team is involved in that development. It would at least be a complement.  

How big do you plan your solar power array to be?
To-date, our focus has been on creating a green outdoor roof garden with all the remaining roof space. We have not yet looked into a solar panel system yet but in time we will research this. Unless solar panels become very energy efficient, we would expect a very modest system. Our overall goal is to pursue LEED Silver certification.  

Will you be recognized as a nonprofit public or private facility?
Quartermaster Outpost is a for-profit venture, but we intend to form a non-profit foundation that will have dedicated space in the building, with a clear mission to engage McKinley Park as well as other neighborhoods to recruit and train creative workforce to meet the demand of the growing content creation industry in Chicago. We will have designated public spaces throughout for special events.