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° B12 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1997
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<br /> Mo vie Theaters Drive City and Suburban Developments
<br /> By NEM.TEMPLIN the whim of Hollywood, which doesn't always offer a bump
<br /> • Staff Reporter of nu.:WALL Srnia.:i• tts.,t, crop of fllmsAnd some worry about overkill. The U.S. now h
<br /> 28,000 movie screens, 21% more than it had in 1989. But anal2,
<br /> Gary Marsh of Cowen & Co. says that closings of older, small
<br /> RB N REDEVELOPMENT has found a newU
<br /> theaters are offsetting the new arrivals, reducing the likeliha
<br /> champion: the movie theater. of overbuilding.
<br /> Consider Fort Worth, Texas, where the In fact, movie theaters now are considered so critical tt
<br /> wealthy Bass family spent tens of millions of dollars Los Angeless devo loperwsefseeki g city approval Iraforam360,0(
<br /> during the 1980s in a grandiose effort to revive the city's clown- square-foot retail entertainment complex with 15 screens ar
<br /> .town.The project struggled until AMC Entertainment inc.opened 4,700 seats in Westwood, a historic shopping area that has fallt
<br /> an 11-screen movie theater there in late 1991.
<br /> The theater quickly became the city's on hard times. Nearby residents oppose L
<br /> most popular, attracting 800,000 cusx�, project,saying the theaters will bring t
<br /> tourers a year like 19-year-old Gerry ,;<- 1s;f �t o v 1 E P L E x :- .L:.',.::. much traffic and the wrong sort
<br /> Abbott, who sees a movie "every 4•• ,. , •--int ai peopleM into their neighborhood.
<br /> weekend." Nearby restaurants no- r �„ en ' 7 UrTo" �, X igh rs' fearSmedrawho says e
<br /> ticed an immediate surge in busi 4" 2 ,ar'"�" a®r a :� neighbors' fears are"complete
<br /> ness. Other restaurants and night ;¢u+ {9 Um
<br /> tz says he will have to"complete
<br /> clubs began opening in Sundance y'&" y �t0V�'143: , "Th. :^n `i` ; rethink" the project if the ci
<br /> Square. Last year, AMC built a sec p+ 5't"' r3 � ,''"°' doesn't approve the movie tt:
<br /> .and multiscreen theater downtown, , aters. "luny of the 1prospectiv
<br /> and Barnes Sr. Noble Inc. opened a upscale tenants we've spoken
<br /> • sprawling 23,000-square-foot book '� • are contingent upon the theaters
<br /> store with a huge sculpture of a • Mr. Smedra says.
<br /> cowboy on a bucking bronco. Downtown shopping areas aren
<br /> f the onlyPP g
<br /> "It was dead until we put "`."• .. ones embracing mull
<br /> in, we ,i ` }._J, screen movie theaters. In subu
<br /> theeught theater tandfew :. . " t ban Ontario,Calif., the recent
<br /> says Philip back Singleton, _ 'n, 1. -; s \��f P.
<br /> t'= completed Ontario Mills me
<br /> who is president of AMC's •-:!, �.c� t ,? - .1„„� 4 combines 30 movie scree:
<br /> theater operations. :.�� ; •_ and upscale outlet store
<br /> From the Third Street :, . Other developers are pairir
<br /> Promenade in Santa Monica, % -;4 - o;r` movie theaters and trent
<br /> Calif., to CocoWalk in Coconut `; *w , Q" restaurants to create suburbs
<br /> v.,. .
<br /> Grove,Fla.,movie theaters have helped ? " r developments like the Spectrum
<br /> turn moribund urban shopping areas into ,? (T;„ .o Irvine,Calif.
<br /> thriving entertainment meccas. And 1,�"" •4 But in downtowns, theaters crew
<br /> 1‘..s. ; _,� ��� .. '. entire) : mho
<br /> there arm_cnnce�n�h�ivay. I .•• ,� pl lr p terns-1�ti
<br /> Phoenix, AMC is building a 24 screen the- ', '� Atik Third Street Promenade in Santa Mo
<br /> i. p:•, • d ica, many retailers do their stronge
<br /> ater to help draw customers to the Arizona •� � t • •- ,7;.
<br /> ~
<br /> Center, an office and retail development.
<br /> business late at nigh[. At the �Iidnig`
<br /> George Thompson
<br /> Movie theaters are good for surrounding Special bookstore,which stays open um
<br /> 11:30 p.m. on weekends, "You can tell who
<br /> businesses because they generate lots of traffic. A big multi- the movies let out," says Margie Ghiz, the bookstore's owne
<br /> screen theater can draw two million to three million customers a Santa Monica Place, a regional shopping mall that abuts th
<br /> year. who pour out into nearby restaurants and clubs or retail Promenade. keeps its food court open until 10 p.m. on Saturda\
<br /> stores. And because theaters change films regularly, customers Overall,the mall has seen its business rise 30%since the Promi
<br /> keep coming back. At CocoWalk.in Coconut Grove. for instance, nade opened in 1989.
<br /> the nontheater businesses last year averaged annual sales of In Fort Worth, the movies draw customers on nights an
<br /> 5600 a square foot, about three times the average level in a re- weekends, the times when downtown used to be empty.Dick Mc
<br /> gional mall. Some smaller specialty retailers are paying rents of Mullin, owner of Billy Miner's restaurant there, remembers be
<br /> as much as 5100 a square foot. ing baffled the first time he saw a downtown parking lot full c
<br /> "The longer you can keep someone in the center and keep them cars at 9:30 on a Saturday morning. Turns out people were con
<br /> entertained,the more likely they are to spend on retail,"says Rub ing to see early showings at the theater. Billy Miner's now does
<br /> Snowden. Coco>,Valk's general manager. The approach proved so strong Saturday lunch trade after the movie lets out.
<br /> 411 successful that it was mimicked by a neighboring shopping center,
<br /> which added a 10 screen theater during a recent renovation. In both Fort Worth and Santa Monica, the downtown revita.
<br /> ization came in waves,starting with the theaters.The restaurant.
<br /> Theater-driven retail is the natural successor to the festival and bars followed. Then came the retail stores. Santa Monica ha.
<br /> marketplaces that were pioneered by the Rouse Co., Mr. Snow- been attracting national retailers for two or three years,includin
<br /> den says. While festival marketplaces did well in some cities, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic and the Disney Store.
<br /> they struggled in others. Movie theaters supply "the missing rit Fort Worth, the retail rush is just beginning. Sundanc
<br /> component to the Rouse formula." he says. While shoppers Pre:•Tient William Boecker is in discussions with music store
<br /> might tire of jugglers or street musicians. "with movie theaters and casual apparel stores that are interested in locating there
<br /> you have something new to show them every Friday." And ane more thing. "We're talking with AMC about building ar
<br /> Such dependence on theaters puts retailers and restrutrnnre 1r „ •.rt,.,..'-........ ,._ -..._
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