California has Silicon Valley. New York City has Wall
Street. Chicago has the Loop. And Lancaster County? It has Rock Lititz LP.
The entertainment industry campus in Warwick Township is
poised to house 20 to 25 companies by the end of this year, advancing the goal
of its founders to create a collaborative environment for companies in the live
entertainment industry, according to Rock Lititz General Manager Andrea Shirk.
The companies will be tenants in a 250,000-square-foot
building known as Pod 2, which is slated for completion this December.
The building is the second structure on the 96-acre Rock
Lititz campus, and it sits across the street from a 52,000-square-foot studio
that was completed in 2014.
Rock Lititz’s founding companies, Clair Global and Tait
Towers use the mammoth studio to rehearse shows with their clients, who include
nationally known performers. Clair Global makes and rents audio systems for
touring musicians, while Tait Towers builds stages for tours.
The idea behind Pod 2 is to house a bigger group of
companies that can collaborate and work with tour crews and musicians.
Shirk, who refers to the Rock Lititz project as a
“collaborative campus,” said the end goal is to create a place where multiple
companies can work together to grow, innovate and improve.
After all, that is how Rock Lititz started.
Although Clair and Tait have long had a working
relationship, the two companies today are being more strategic about how they
can grow together. Building the Rock Lititz Campus is part of that strategy.
“It’s not just about collaboration,” Shirk said. “It’s
about creating a community.”
Constructing a community
Shirk has been working diligently over the past several
months to secure leases with companies that might contribute to the Rock Lititz
community, such as companies that operate stage lighting or other concert
equipment.
And she’s not just looking for companies. She’s looking
for people — “people who can help us come up with the next innovation of our
industry — that’s who we want there,” Shirk said.
Rock Lititz is bringing in both established entertainment
companies and entrepreneurs, and it is considering what the campus can provide
for its neighbors.
Among the tenants, for example, is one called Lititz
recRoc, which will be open to the public. Operated by the existing Lititz
recCenter, Lititz recRoc will feature an indoor rock-climbing wall as well as
portions of a ninja warrior training course.
Rock Lititz also invited Anne Kirby, founder of
Lancaster-based Candy Factory, to manage a co-working space at Rock Lititz called
Rock Candy, A Candy Factory Project.
Kirby is partnering with Steve Palmer to open the space.
Palmer, who works from home for an online database software company, has been
trying to bring co-working to the Lititz community for several years.
Two other potential tenants will address community needs,
Shirk said, declining to name them before leases are signed.
If all pending leases are signed, Pod 2 will be at
roughly 95 percent capacity. Power lines crossing the property make it
difficult to add to Pod 2. One potential tenant, however, could prompt Rock
Lititz to add a third building, which would be called Pod 3, Shirk said.
Rock Lititz is also in the process of working through
zoning issues with Warwick Township for a 135-bed hotel and a restaurant. The
hotel and restaurant will include a swimming pool, fitness center and meeting
space, and it will be managed in partnership with developer and hotel operator
Arc One. Arc One is formed by three companies in the Philadelphia area.
“It is paramount to our team that the hotel be an
integral part of the Lititz community,” said Nimesh Shah, managing partner at
Arc One. “We are excited to work with Rock Lititz Properties, other local
businesses and residents to develop and operate this hotel project.”
Sharing the stage
Pod 2 is the second building going up on the Rock Lititz
campus in Warwick Township. Tenants include a mix of local and national
companies. They include:
Lititz-based
companies:
Clair Global, which offers production support for live
entertainment, will use space in Pod 2 to support new product lines.
Atomic, which provides stage set construction and design,
rental props, lighting and production services to clients around the world,
will use Pod 2 to expand its custom set-construction capabilities.
Stray Productions provides rental and installation of
lighting, audio and HD video systems.
Lititz recRoc will be operated by the Lititz recCenter.
The center, taking up 2,000 square feet, will include rope-ladder challenges,
as well as cardio and strength-training equipment.
Lititz Bike Works, which repairs and sells bikes, will be
a tenant at Rock Lititz.
Lancaster-based
companies:
Candy Factory co-working space is adding a Lititz
location.
TFB Catering, owned by two brothers — Josh and Jake Funk
— who also own Annie Bailey’s Irish Pub, will operate Pod 2’s employee
cafeteria, coffee station and campus catering.
Project Opus Films, a video and film production company,
is relocating from downtown Lancaster to Pod 2.
Other Pennsylvania
companies:
Upstage Video, based in Pottstown, is relocating its
headquarters to Rock Lititz. Upstage provides screen-video solutions for
large-scale events and venues.
Rock-It Cargo, based in Huntington Valley, is opening a
location in Lititz. The logistics company handles cargo for touring
entertainment.
Other companies:
Pyrotek Special Effects Inc. is based in Toronto, and has
facilities in Las Vegas, New York, Nashville and soon Lititz. The company handles
visual effects, such as flames and confetti, for live performances.
Minnesota-based Tour Supply is a one-stop shop for
products for the professional touring industry, It will have warehouse space to
support touring rehearsals at Rock Lititz Studio and other companies on campus.
CM-ET - Columbus McKinnon Entertainment, based in New
York, is a manufacturer of electric chain hoist and rigging products for the
entertainment industry around the globe. It will have a Lititz location.
Source: Central
Penn Business Journal
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