Star Actor Anthony Mackie Plans Major Studio in Barren New Orleans Neighborhood
NEW ORLEANS – Dr. Calvin Mackie, founder and CEO of STEM NOLA and STEM Global Action (SGA), said New Orleans East development projects managed separately by him and his brother, actor Anthony Mackie, will benefit community residents and help advance education in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
This week, Anthony Mackie, who plays the first black Captain America, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, purchased 20 acres on the Interstate 10 Service Road at Read Boulevard. He will house his new production company, East Studios LLC and studio on the site. Just across the interstate also on the Interstate 10 Service Road, STEM NOLA is building a STEM Innovation Hub for Black Excellence, which will house laboratory space, classrooms, meeting spaces and 21st century technology to expose, educate, train and connect students to STEM careers and skills. Supported by donations from Ochsner Health and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the 40,000-square-foot space will be the new headquarters for SGA and STEM NOLA.
In addition, Dr. Mackie announced in October that it is creating an expansive STEM District in New Orleans East as part of the first phase of Bayou Phoenix LLC’s $100 million development project reviving an abandoned 227-acre site that once housed Six Flags and Jazzland. The plan includes the STEM education center, as well as a hotel, water park, amusement park, sports complex and a warehouse and distribution center.
“Anthony and I have always worked to give back to our community,” Dr. Mackie said. “This is no different. We will be teaching students how STEM will have major roles in the operation of the various components of our development project. Our city had been through so much over the years now is the time to help our neighborhoods and our people flourish again.”