Second Line Stages, a New Orleans studio currently under construction, is poised to become the first LEED certified studio in the U.S., CoStar Group reports.

The 90,000-square-foot studio is being built on a brownfield site in the Lower Garden District. The $32-million facility is aiming for LEED Silver certification for all aspects of the project, including its three sound stages, production offices, and screening theater. The project is expected to be completed in December.

The project was funded by the National New Markets Fund, New Orleans activist and developer Susan Brennan, Whitney Bank, state and federal New Markets and Historic Tax Credits, Louisiana Infrastructure Tax Credits, CityScape Capital Group, and the Valued Advisor Fund.

Second Lines Stages is not the first studio to pursue sustainability. Albuquerque Studios and Santa Fe Studios have both expressed their commitments to sustainability, with the latter working to be considered the first green movie studios in the country.

Last September, Cinema West announced the installation of a 27-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system at its Fairfax 5 Theatres.

The film industry is also greening up the business, starting with construction, with one theater in Madison, WI and another in San Francisco, CA.