Robert De Niro's Wildflower Studios: The Billion-Dollar Studio Reshaping NYC Film
By Bruce Kramer, Founder. Our team brings 75+ years of combined experience across the Los Angeles photo, film, and event world. Meet the team.
At Buttercup Venues, we are constantly inspired by innovation within the production industry. While we pride ourselves on offering premier, production-ready locations in Los Angeles, we are thrilled to see groundbreaking developments on the East Coast. A prime example is Wildflower Studios, a visionary project in Astoria, Queens, backed by actor Robert De Niro, his son Raphael De Niro, and developer Adam Gordon . This nearly $1 billion, 760,000-square-foot facility is redefining what a modern studio can be.
Designed by the acclaimed Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Wildflower Studios is more than just a collection of soundstages; it's a "world-class content creation campus" . The seven-story complex is a vertical model for film production, created to meet New York City's immense demand for studio space . Sited on a 5.25-acre waterfront parcel purchased from Steinway, the studio is conveniently located just minutes from central Manhattan
The facility boasts 11 combinable soundstages, 310 off-street parking spaces, and dedicated support areas, allowing for a seamless workflow from pre-production to post . But what truly sets Wildflower apart is its mission to be a futuristic hub for all forms of storytelling. The campus is designed to accommodate not only traditional film and television but also streaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and gaming
The studio's interior fosters a dynamic and collaborative environment. Strategically interconnected spaces, including offices, production support areas, cafés, and fitness centers, are designed to encourage interaction between actors, writers, and technical crews . This creates a vibrant working community within the practical infrastructure of filmmaking . For Robert De Niro, the studio is the realization of a long-held ambition to build a major New York City soundstage, a goal he first pursued in 1999 .
Wildflower Studios represents the future of production—a self-contained creative ecosystem that provides the tools, space, and collaborative energy modern creators need. We at Buttercup Venues celebrate this bold new chapter for the New York production scene and recognize it as a powerful reflection of where our industry is headed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a New York studio on an LA venue blog?
Wildflower is a signal — purpose-built, vertically integrated stages are where production infrastructure is heading, and LA's inventory is evolving in response.
Does Buttercup book outside Los Angeles?
The portfolio is LA-centered, plus Palm Springs; for other markets we'll tell you honestly what we know and who to call.
What should LA venues take from Wildflower's model?
That logistics are the product — power, load-in, and workflow answered under one roof is what producers now expect a location to have solved.
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