HOPE VALLEY - Residents met Wednesday with officials from what could be its newest neighbor: a $100-million movie production studio complex with offices and a four-story 150-room hotel.

Developers for Rhode Island Studios -- Calif.-based Pacifica Ventures and West Warwick-based Halden Acquisitions Group LLC -- announced plans last month for the project that would be built on about 65 acres off Exit 2 on Interstate 95. Ralph Palumbo, chief financial officer of Halden Acquisitions, said developers have secured options to more than 250 acres, although there are currently no other projects pending for the land.

Palumbo said he expects studio plans to be filed within 90 days. The project proposes eight sound stages totaling up to 225,000 square feet, about 75,000 square feet each for production offices and storage, and 10,000 feet of executive offices. Outdoor sets, trailers, enclosed parking and additional buildings for cafeteria dining and post-production are also proposed.

"I'm not opposed," said Al Corburn of North Gardens at Lindbrook, one of the two condominium associations that would abut the complex. "I'm neutral right now."

Coburn, who plans to retire in the next couple of years, said he is concerned about the movie studios' impact on his property value.

"It will be interesting to know," he said, after told that Rhode Island Studios officials said they would hire an appraiser to asses the complex's potential impact on other properties.  "Could we hold them to it?"

Palumbo said he expects the assessment to be conducted within 90 days, though did not specify which properties would be included.

He added that he anticipates surrounding property values to increase, which he said is what happened to neighbors of New Mexico-based Albuquerque Studios, the model for the Hope Valley project.

"People will cluster to it," Palumbo said, citing increased employment as a reason why he expects property values to rise.

"Of course they say it goes up," said Al Bedoya, whose Palmer Circle home would abut the proposed emergency access road. "Is that valid...I don't know."

Bedoya added the proposed buffers are a positive part of the development, as he said his main concern is privacy. The hotel would be the nearest building to his property.

In a recent series of interviews, some residents at the 43-unit North Gardens and the 20-unit Lindhbrook Green Condominiums Association mulled over how the studio would impact its water. The Lindhbrook Water Company at the neighboring Lindhbrook Golf Course supplies water to both condo developments.

Hydrogeologist Herb Johnston said engineers are evaluating all options to develop a water system, including using the current water supply or building private wells. 

Johnston said based on state Department of Health information from the 1990s, 43 condo units used about 6,500 gallons per day from a well that delivered an estimated 140,000 gallons per day in 1987. He said testing would need to be done to determine the studio complex's water needs and if the existing water company could sustain it.

However a developer spokesman, attributing information to Palumbo, said about two weeks ago that engineers have determined that the "aquifer below the property is adequate to serve the existing usage and proposed additional use."

Johnston said 85 percent of the water pumped from the aquifer would be returned via septic systems.

Rhode Island Studios officials have said that the project will not be built unless the state legislature approves a tax credit for 20 percent of studio construction costs. This month the state House of Representatives Finance Committee is expected to review such a bill introduced by state Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, this month.

Rhode Island Studios could receive about a $15-million break for the $75-million movie studio.  The hotel is estimated at $25 million.

Hal Katersky, chairman of Pacifica Ventures, said the state "will see the money before we get the credit," noting that the proposed bill says a final certification for the credit will not be given unless it has a certificate of occupancy.  Construction wages and costs would generate revenue for the state, he added.

He added that he plans to testify before the House Finance Committee for the bill.

Katersky added that developers would also consider applying for a five-year, incremental phase-in tax stabilization policy, which the Hopkinton Town Council passed days before Rhode Island Studios officials announced plans.

Katersky said he expects construction jobs and most studio positions to be Rhode Island union jobs, but acknowledged that it is possible for some to be from out of state.  Developers have said production companies using the studio would hire employees for about 2,000 positions, and the facility would bring another 90 jobs such as accountants, publicists and security guards.

Palumbo said developers have had informal talks with local unions.

Katersky said the studio would offer an opportunity for film studies students to work within the state after graduation.  Informal discussions with the University of Rhode Island for internships and other unspecified opportunities have begun, he added.