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The Savannah area has the enthusiasm, desire and potential to become a major southeast film center, but those attributes alone won’t make it happen, veteran moviemaker Ralph Singleton told the board of the Savannah Economic Development Authority on Wednesday.
“Basically, you need three things — a crew base, an infrastructure and the desire to shoot in Savannah,” he said.
Singleton should know.
An award-winning producer of film and television, he has worked on more than 40 motion pictures and several hit TV shows. Beginning this month, he will use his expertise and contacts to market and sell the Savannah region as a location for film, television and other productions.
Retained by SEDA last fall, Singleton will divide his time between Los Angeles and Savannah, working closely with the Savannah Film Office, which will manage those productions that choose to come here.
Singleton has been setting the wheels in motion, talking with the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah Technical College and area universities about developing training programs for the various aspects of production.
“We also need to encourage already trained crews to relocate here,” he said, noting that North Carolina has a large production crew
base that isn’t working now that the state allowed its film tax incentives to expire.
“As for infrastructure, we need to help companies that are already here to invest in the ‘bricks and mortar’ facilities,” Singleton said. “Make no mistake about it, tax incentives really work.”
Finally, producers have to know the area and want to be here, he said.
“For example, ‘Magic Mike’ cost more to shoot here than it would have in Atlanta. But the decision-makers were sold on Savannah,” he said.
With Singleton on board, SEDA and the city have the final piece that will help move Savannah’s film ambitions forward, said SEDA president and CEO Trip Tollison.
“Ralph has 45 years of experience as a producer, studio head and director in the film industry,” Tollison said. “His in-depth knowledge and high-level connections will be vital in helping bring productions to the Savannah region.”
Looking back, forward
As is its custom for the first meeting each year, SEDA — and now WTC Savannah — reviews its business plans for the past year and presents its benchmarks for the upcoming year.
In 2014, SEDA had 15 announcements of new businesses or expansions, three shy of its target. However, the 668 new jobs SEDA helped facilitate beat the 2014 target by nearly 50 jobs and capital investment, which included a $150 million incentive for International Paper, came in at $305 million, $166 million higher than projected.
SEDA also surpassed its business attraction goals with 73 new projects worked and 144 existing industry visits.
Highlights of 2014 included passage of the Freeport Exemption in Savannah, which repeals the inventory tax and the adoption by the Chatham County Commission of a new incentive for retention and job creation.
That incentive was crucial to the future of International Paper’s Savannah mill, Tollison said.
“Having IP invest that much money in their facility here proves they are here for the long term,” he said.
World Trade Center Savannah also met or exceeded goals for the year, hosting 16 inbound foreign delegations and coordinating five outbound trade missions. WTC made good on its promise to be a regional resource, securing 12 separate economic development authorities as founding partners, which makes WTC Savannah the largest regional economic development effort outside of Atlanta in the state.
“We now have 13 counties that are members of the World Trade Center, which gives us a strong economic development effort for regional projects,” he said.
For 2015, SEDA’s goal is 18 new announcements or expansions, 695 new jobs and $161 million in capital expansion.
To reach that goal, the organization hopes to attract 75 potential projects, with 45 actual client visits as it continues to build strong relationships with statewide economic development project managers, site selection consultants and local, regional and national real estate brokers.
Also on SEDA’s agenda for 2015 is a continuing land development strategy, the development and execution of a strategy targeting the aerospace industry and a review of other communities that have made strong gains in overcoming workforce deficiencies.
Looking to EB-5
Among WTC Savannah’s goals for 2015 are increasing Foreign Trade Zone revenue to $155,000, securing approval through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to designate WTC Savannah as an EB-5 Regional Center and to advance the next phase of EB-5 to include marketing a project in partnership with the Northern Rockies Regional Center.
In a nutshell, an EB-5 center is federal government-approved way for well-heeled foreign investors to bankroll projects in the U.S. that will create jobs and stimulate the economy.
Savannah’s WTC also will continue with research specific to its partners’ needs as well as that needed to support SEDA business development. To that end, the organization will plan and execute a fall business trade mission to Germany, as well as hosting a delegation from Germany in the spring. The organization will host a minimum of 10 global education programs, while WTC’s successful internship program will offer five-month internships three times a year.
In other business, World Trade Center Savannah Chairman Eric Johnson passed the gavel to vice chairman Scott Center, who will take over as chair of the three-year-old organization Johnson has led since its inception.
Johnson, president of Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung International, Inc., will continue to serve on the WTC board and also serves on the SEDA board of directors.
WTC board members Chad Barrow and Sylvester Formey were elected vice chair and treasurer, respe
ctively.
New WTC board members are Coastal Region Vice President of Georgia Power Cathy Hill; Foram Group Founder and CEO Loretta Cockrum; Ken Bianco, Vice President-Commercial Operations of JCB, Inc.; Ports Authority Director of Business Development John Petrino and veteran Savannah River pilot Michael Foran.