A video production company with offices in Williamsburg, Norfolk and Richmond plans to open a new headquarters in downtown Hampton, employing up to 30 staffers.
Metro Productions plans to move into a renovated building on West Queens Way by March, following $200,000 in renovations. The company, which has been called Metro Video Productions, handles a variety of video, film and multimedia projects. It has done television spots for motel-operator Microtel and Colonial Williamsburg. It also does sales and training videos and and Web streaming video.
The decision by the production company follows a string of recent expansions and openings announcements for downtown Hampton. Among those: Added space for the Virginia Air and Space Center, the Cousteau Society’s plan to move its headquarters, the new Ruppert Leon Sargent Memorial City Ad mini- stration building and a $1 million expansion by the Brass Shop.
Metro Productions said its move would allow it to combine work spread between two offices. “We had been looking for a location to consolidate two offices — our headquarters in Williamsburg and in Norfolk — to work more efficiently under one roof,” said Jack Brown, director of sales for Metro Productions. “This seemed like a good central location in the area.”
The Hampton office will include a variety of production facilities, including a small soundstage, an audio room and editing and graphics suites.
Metro Productions’ Richmond office will continue as a production operation, while the Williamsburg office on Duke of Gloucester Street will be kept for meetings.
The 22-year-old company expects to move more than half of its 45-employee staff to the new building.
Metro Productions will launch its new name and logo when the headquarters opens.
Hampton city officials said the deal fits with its plans to fill downtown office space with businesses that also own the property they occupy.
The production company also reflects the ecletic mix of employers the city has tried to lure to the downtown district.
“Metro is symbolic of the type of niche industries our department is proactively working to attract to the city,” said Ray White, who is the city of Hampton’s director of economic development.
The city helped Metro Productions identify the building and provided financial help through the Hampton Revolving Loan Program and the Downtown Hampton/Phoebus Loan Assistance Program.
