By:KEITH GRANT
smaller theater coming soon
In what the city is calling a victory for it and a group of local residents, developers looking to expand the Park Avenue Twin movie theater have agreed to construct a four-screen theater with a total of 600 seats. The long-rumored deal scales back the initial plans that called for a seven-plex and more than 1,000 seats.
According to city officials, plans for the four-plex will be submitted by developer Philips International at the May 24 meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
"This is a major victory for the neighborhood and the city," said City Manager Bruce Nyman. "After a year of litigation and negotiation, it looks like at long last the community is going to get a true neighborhood movie theater."
The anticipated capacity is only 100 seats more than currently housed in the twin. Many residents living in the area near the theater feared major traffic and parking problems from a seven-plex. When plans for the proposed 1,052 seat, two-story movie house were granted a variance by the Zoning Board two years ago, a number of residents immediately organized as the Long Beach Residents Association and hired attorney Charles Kovit to fight the project.
Though their suit was beaten in State Supreme court, the residents, city officials and lawyers for Philips met several time over the past few months to try to strike a deal. This week, city officials announced that, at long last, plans for the 7-plex were left on cutting room floor and Philips will move ahead with a four-screen plan, which will incorporate the neighboring corner property that formerly housed Roy Rogers.
The compromise had been rumored for several months, but the sides could not seem to finalize an agreement. Kovit and Residents Association leader Steven Marro told the Herald last week that they intended to move ahead with an appeal of the lawsuit as the talks appeared to have broken down. News that an agreement had been reached as a surprise to Marro.
"We haven't signed off on it," he said. "We have been willing to sign it, but [Philips] kept backing out. If it's a done deal, it's a done deal without us."
Marro remained skeptical that Philips would, in fact, move ahead with a four-plex at the site, but said such a development would be a clear victory for the residents.
"I think it's great," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, I've won."
City councilman Denis Kelly called the announced deal a "happy compromise."
Four years ago, an economic development Plan for downtown Long Beach recommended the creation of a new theatre as a "cultural anchor for downtown." The report indicated that the ideal location was, in fact, the site of the Park Avenue Twin at the intersection of Park and Long Beach Boulevard.
