The Pittsburgh Film Office is rebranding Pittsburgh International Airport’s former landside terminal as a filming location for television and movies.
A website promoting the “Terminal P” initiative on Wednesday included video statements from local officials supporting the move, including Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“With 440,000 square feet of space, three stories and soaring 60-foot ceilings, it’s the ultimate blank canvas to bring your creative vision to life,” Dawn Keezer, executive director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, said in a video.
Keezer said that while no film projects have rented the space yet, the facility’s size makes it easy to accommodate multiple sets.
The Pittsburgh Film Office, an economic development agency focused on attracting film production to Southwestern Pennsylvania, is spearheading the Terminal P effort.
Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said in a statement on the website that the new $1.57 billion landside terminal, which opened in November, created an opportunity to reimagine the old space.
“With 150 nonstop flights daily and new direct service between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, logistics couldn’t be simpler,” Cassotis said in the video.
Cassotis said the goal is to make Pittsburgh a premier destination for the film industry.
Pittsburgh International Airport spokesman Bob Kerlik said, now that the Allegheny County Airport Authority has fully moved out of the old terminal, officials are looking for ways to reuse the space.
“Working with the Pittsburgh Film Office is part of that plan. We’re supportive of their efforts to position this site as a potential filming location as we look to generate economic impact for the region until a final decision on the old terminal is made,” Kerlik said in a message to TribLive.
Keezer said the Pittsburgh Film Office had been considering using the old terminal as a filming location since the first announcement of the airport modernization project, which called for closing the old landside terminal and building a new one alongside the existing airside terminal.
“We’re always looking for locations that are a little unique,” Keezer said.
Actor, singer and producer Billy Porter, a Pittsburgh native, also appears in promotional materials for the facility.
“Pittsburgh is a city built on reinvention. It’s where a kid like me grows up to be in movies, where a former steel mill is transformed into a cutting-edge robotics hub, where a yellow towel becomes an internationally recognized symbol of greatness — and now, a converted airport terminal takes center stage,” Porter said.