A movie theater company passes on a proposal to build a megaplex at U.S. 19 and Drew Street in Clearwater.
By JENNIFER FARRELL
Published September 4, 2003
CLEARWATER - A parking shortage turned out to be the deal killer in plans to bring a 20-screen megaplex to Drew Street and U.S. 19, leaving the city without a first-run movie theater.
Fort Lauderdale-based Muvico passed on the soon-to-be-vacant Target in the Clearwater Collection shopping center after deciding the site doesn't have nearly enough spaces to support an 80,000-square-foot multiplex.
"If you think about it, that's a problem," Muvico spokesman Jim Lee said Wednesday. "For a movie theater, that's an important element."
Negotiations for the Target, which is next to the Philadelphia Phillies' new spring training ball park, included talks with the city for shared parking. But proposed solutions didn't work, according to Greg Sembler, vice chairman of the Sembler Co., which owns much of the land in the half-filled shopping center.
"People aren't going to walk a quarter mile or something and park in the grass," he said.
Clearwater has been without a first-run movie theater since 2000, when cinemas at the Countryside and Clearwater malls shut down. The Clearwater Cinema Cafe shows movies for discount prices after they have been screened at first-run theaters. But residents have to leave town to see something new.
Clearwater is an attractive location, said Lee, but Muvico's business plan doesn't include building smaller venues that would require less parking.
"I don't think it's economically even feasible to talk about anything smaller than a 14-screen-plex nowadays," said Lee. "That's not a workable business model in today's economy."
Muvico has no other city locations in mind, he said.
Target is moving out of its old location in October when its new superstore is set to open in the rebuilt Clearwater Mall, which Sembler is also developing.
Sembler said he is negotiating with several potential tenants for the shopping center, which still houses a Tandy Computer Center and a Dollar Tree store.
"We are working on something else," he said. "I wouldn't say that there are any other movie theaters that are in hot pursuit."
City officials, while disappointed with Muvico's decision, hope for another deal, something that might help with their plans revitalize downtown Clearwater.
"I remain optimistic," said City Manager Bill Horne. "Our preference all along has been to have cinema in the downtown area."
