Classic cinema chain makes major debut in local market - Houston Business Journal:

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, based in Newport Beach, Calif., broked ground last week on its firsf theater project inGreenwayu Plaza, which the company is developin with Dallas-based The 5,800-seat theater, which will also incorporate aboutt 30,000 square feet of restaurant and retail facilities, will be locatedd on a 4.5-acre site that lies west of the The theater, just off of Weslayan near the Southwestg Freeway, will be visible from the highway. The 68-year-ols theater company also plans to break grouns early next month ona 320,000-square-foot entertainment complesx on a prime industriall tract once occupied by the now-defunct Camerohn Iron Works Inc.
PLC also based in Newport Beach, is developing the complecx in conjunction withEdwards Theaters. The partnersz expect to close a deal sometims next week on 40 acres on the north side of Interstat e 10 at Silber The same parcel of land was under contract more than a year agoto Houston-basec Dienna/Simpkins Co. for the proposed development ofa mixed-usedc project. The PLC-Edwards project will includes a 24-screen movie theater, an IMAX and about 200,000 square feet of restaurant and entertainment-basexd retail facilities, says Mike Lutton, president of PLC.
Seven restaurants and a food court as well as variouwretail stores, including a bookstors and an interactive games store, are expecter to sign leases in the "We're bringing a form of entertainment to Houstoh that they haven't seen yet," Lutton He adds that the complex, whichh is slated for completiojn in May of 1999, is being modeled after the Spectrum entertainment complex in Irvine, Jim Edwards, president and CEO of Edwardxs Theaters, says both projects are intended to fill a void in the Houstob market. "These are high-profile, signature and we feel they cover holes in themarketg area," Edwards says.
Neither project has been The Greenway Plaza theater is perhaps the most urba n location of any movie theater built in the city in recent The deal was made possiblse because of a parkinh agreement between the theater developers and Innova Building owner Koch Industries that will allow the theatefr patrons to sharethe 2,200-cat garage currently being built betweej the two sites with Koch "That's why we were able to put an entertainment centetr like this in an urban says Corby Collins, executive vice president of "Once we decided to do a theater here (in Greenway we pretty much had our pick of theater operators.
" Koch is currentluy renovating the former Innova Building at 20 Greenway Plazaz and plans to move in by the end of The parking garage is also scheduled for completion in "Looking at the area, we thought that this was an extremely good location in terms of access and the levell of amenities," Edwards says. The new theatedr should be completed in about12 months, he adds. The Edwardz chain, which opened in now totals more than 600 screensx in nearly100 locations. It's the largesty movie theater chain in California and the 15th largest chain inthe country.
The two Houston theaters will be Edwards' newest outside of The company's only existing megaplex outside of California isin Idaho, though other projects are under way in Virginia and Utah.