"Burn Notice" To Stay In Coconut Grove, For Now

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The hit USA spy thriller "Burn Notice" will continue to film in Coconut Grove,  for at least one more year.

In a statement by District 2 Commissioner Marc Sarnoff,  the commissioner and "Burn Notice" executive producer Terry Miller agreed to concessions that would extend the shoe's lease at the Grove EXPO Center for one more year.

After that, the production company, TVM Productions Inc., would substantially cover the cost of demolition of the EXPO Center once filming is completed for the upcoming season.

The city plans to renovate the land the EXPO Center sits on to a waterfront park.

"The concessions were well received, and they balanced our stated desire to keep Burn Notice filming in Miami while also advancing the plans to build the park that has long been promised to the citizens of Miami," Commissioner Sarnoff said.

The deal is tentative pending approval from TVM Productions and the City of Miami Commission.

"Burn Notice" has called Miami home for six seasons. Producers converted the former EXPO Center into a giant sound stage and have rented it from the city for $240,000 a year.

Miami film industry officials want the show to stay in Coconut Grove because losing it would mean a tremendous loss of revenue, not only for the show which would have to find a new location for a sound stage, but also for local businesses.

According to Miami Today, during lease negotiations last year, Sarnoff suggested the show move to the Miami Entertainment Complex, a city-owned building on Northwest 13th Street that is meant to be a film studio. Terry Miller, the executive producer, said then that wasn't feasible, and he reiterated it this year.

Burn Notice officials have said moving to a new location would cost them a $1 million.

During the show's first five years, Fox spent more than $100 million, including nearly $63 million in wages, and generated in excess of 13,000 room nights, mostly in Miami, states Miami Today.