Photography School to Expand Film Division

The Brooks Institute of Photography plans to expand its film division with a campus in the former Santa Ventura Studios--a move expected to help revitalize the beleaguered Avenue area.

The Santa Barbara-based photography school has signed a 15-year lease on the 73,000-square-foot building at 5301 N. Ventura Ave., and is expected to move in by January.

The Brooks Institute had wanted to expand its motion picture department but could not find room at any of its Santa Barbara County campuses, said John Peckham of Grubb & Ellis, which handled the transaction. The former film studio is ideal because it has high ceilings, soundproofed walls and a working sound stage, Peckham said. It was used to film portions of the hit movie “Erin Brockovich.”

The Ventura Avenue site is expected to bring at least 100 Brooks students to an area that fell from favor when the oil industry began to shut down in the 1980s. Local residents and city officials hope the school will encourage new businesses north of the city.