A developer is planning to build a $104 million movie studio in Devens on 28 acres of land it is purchasing from MassDevelopment.
Andover-based MJM Development’s plans are expected to generate 300 jobs during the project’s first phase of construction on the former military base-turned-business park, according to a report in the Lowell Sun.
The news comes just a month before a 120-room hotel built by Hilton and Westford-based Devens Development is slated to open.
The hotel project had experienced difficulty last year because the anticipated financing was not coming through and delaying construction, but the developer has since made alternate arrangements.
Banker & Tradesman reported earlier this month that Quiet Logistics, an eCommerce fulfillment company for fashion and apparel brands, signed a 200,000-square-foot lease at 66 Saratoga Blvd. in Devens Industrial Park. The location will serve as a distribution center for Quiet Logistics.
Before that, NFI, a supply chain solutions company, leased 135,000 square feet for warehouse space in the same building. This location will also be a distribution center.
While it looks like all this activity could signal better days ahead for Devens, it comes awfully close to last week’s Evergreen Solar Inc. bankruptcy filing. The company shipped 800 jobs out of the state and closed its massive manufacturing plant in Devens in March. News also recently came out that Devens-based American Superconductor Corp. has laid off 150 workers in the last four months.
The Devens Industrial Park still has 900,000 square feet of space available to buy or lease, as well as a 9-acre lot that MassDevelopment is trying to unload. Devens Innovation and Technology Park has 60,000 square feet of for-lease space, most of which is privately owned, and 37 acres of for-sale land owned by MassDevelopment.





