With industry strikes in the rearview mirror, Assembly Atlanta is about to become the busiest it has been since its Phase I opening on November 9. The MARTA-accessible, 65-year-old repurposed GM plant in Doraville is now a creative hub owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television — one of the country’s largest owners of broadcast TV stations. 

Phase I elements include production on 19 sound stages, backlot space, post-production services, support spaces and offices attached directly to the sound stages. The first phase encompasses 43 of Assembly’s 135 acres.

The backlot space contains exterior locations for productions to shoot, with facades that mimic streets in Europe, brownstones in New York, streetscapes with fire escapes, the French Quarter in New Orleans and others.

A 5-acre public park is also part of the development across from Assembly Atlanta’s façade and can be seen from I-285, just inside the perimeter. 

Another notable aspect of Assembly Studios is who is calling it home  — NBCUniversal, NBC’s entertainment division based out of New York and a subsidiary of Comcast.

“NBCUniversal is our anchor tenant and helps with operations and facilities management throughout the course of its lease,” said Justin Campbell, vice president of studio operations. Campbell joined Gray Television last year after managing Third Rail Studios, an Atlanta film and television production studio adjacent to Assembly Atlanta, now also owned by Gray.

“We’re leaning on a company that has done this for years,” Campbell noted of NBCUniversal. “It sets us apart operationally.”

Campbell is quick to add that Assembly Atlanta is not just for NBCU, though. “We’re open to all third parties, and there’s an opportunity for all studios large and small to have a space.”

While there are other studio complexes in Atlanta with film industry businesses located around them and communities nearby — such as Trilith — Campbell said that Assembly Atlanta’s…