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Plans for expanded multiplex in Lynbrook

Regal plans 1,660-seat theaters with $25 million plan

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Representatives of Regal Entertainment and the Blumenfeld Development Group presented their plan to upgrade the Lynbrook movie theater to the village board at its meeting on Monday. The board accepted the $25 million plan, paving the way for construction to begin.

“Lynbrook is very lucky to get this movie theater,” said Mayor Bill Hendrick. “I’m very happy with the plans we saw here tonight — I think the new facility is going to be absolutely beautiful. I honestly can’t think of one complaint I have based on what we saw tonight. This is a giant leap forward in the right direction.”

The current theater, at 321 Merrick Road, will be demolished, according to Jerry Grewe, vice president of Regal, which owns the movie house. “We initially planned to just renovate the current structure, but that did not turn out to be feasible,” he explained. “Instead, we’ll be building a new structure at the same site as the existing one.”

Plans call for 13 screens, seven more than the theater has now. Only 55 seats will be added, however, bringing the theater’s total to 1,660. An earlier plan called for a much larger increase, to more than 3,000 seats.

Grewe said that Regal wants the new theater, which will be 77 feet tall, to be a landmark and an anchor for the village’s downtown at what is known as the Five Corners — the intersection of Merrick Road, Atlantic Avenue and Broadway.

There will be significant improvements to the lobby and concession area, and theater seating will be upgraded, with leather recliners replacing the current stadium seating.

“This theater is leaps and bounds better than not just the theater that’s there now, but the theaters we were building … just five years ago,” Grewe said. He added that a timetable for construction had not yet been established. “We’re still not sure exactly when we’ll be starting and finishing construction …,” he said. “There are still a few more hurdles to clear, a few more final things to figure out before we know exactly when this will be happening.”

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