That would be very cool, as long as there is free parking. If not, I'll keep driving out to Celebration.
GRAND RAPIDS – Downtown Grand Rapids may soon be home to a new multi-screen movie theater. Since last fall Michigan based theater broker Neal Berkowitz and a Detroit developer have been talking with the city's downtown development authority about buying the parking lot on Ottawa between Oakes and Cherry on the southwest side.
The developers shared their plans for the site at the development authority's meeting, which also includes two retail spaces they say already have potential tenants. Executive director Jay Fowler says this would be a good fit for the city, "Grand Rapids downtown is a different market because it is part of a whole entertainment complex. With restaurants and night clubs that exist. It will allow you to come downtown and really make a whole night of entertainment not just drive through a parking lot and go to the theater."
And Fowler says the plan would also including adding additional parking downtown, "What we would do is construct a new parking structure in conjunction with the theater so that not only would we increase the amount of parking on the site today but add the theater as a component of the mixed use development."
Downtown would be a lot closer for me.
Too bad they didn't save any of the old theaters- I vaguely remember seeing a Disney movie in a place that had a huge upper balcony- I can't tell you which theater it was, the Midtown? maybe? Or the Civic? Did they have movies before they started putting on the plays there?
Kids would throw stuff on the crowd below. Fun, fun, fun.