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What's Brewing

Requiem for the Sunrise

By SUSAN THURSTON
Published August 25, 2006

Sometimes the curtain falls before the show ends.

When it happens on Broadway, it's usually a mistake.

When it happens in Tampa, it's deemed an inevitable result of progress.

Sunrise Cinemas rolls the final credits Aug. 31. Sunrise management sent a letter to theater patrons last Friday stating that its two-year contract with Hyde Park Village had expired.

President Mitchel Dreier thanked customers for proving that independent film is viable in Tampa, noting that the theaters' ticket revenue has been on the rise. Look for $1 concession prices and discount tickets the last day.

Customers saw it coming but still took it hard. Wasserman Real Estate Capital, which became majority owner of the village this year, didn't include Sunrise in its ambitious plans to overhaul the aging outdoor shopping center but never set a date for the theater's demise.

Until last Friday, some people thought the theater would get a reprieve, at least for a while. Maybe Wasserman would move the screens to a different part of the village. Maybe it would abandon plans to tear down the building along Swann Avenue and replace it with condominiums.

Carol Garner, a longtime patron who goes to the theater with friends almost weekly, summed up a lot of people's feelings.

"I think it's sad," she said. "I hate to see all the density coming. It's going to change our quality of life so much.

"Everywhere you turn there are condos."

Craig Dean, the bar manager at the Wine Exchange, took it even more personally. He doesn't understand why the village would send Sunrise packing, leaving neighboring businesses that rely on theater traffic, like his, to suffer.

"They are bringing in money, they are bringing in rent," he said. "Why get rid of them?"

He suspects the village owners wanted to defuse the public's outcry about losing the theater. People aren't likely to object to the condos so vociferously once the sting of Sunrise's closure has worn off.

Wine Exchange, one of the most successful businesses in the village, plans to move to a new restaurant row area near the former Cactus Club, probably around March. Until then, they'll have to wait it out next to the empty theater space.

Dean isn't sure what to expect. A healthy chunk of the restaurant's business comes from moviegoers. "Call us back in a month," he said.

One thing is sure. Sunrise's departure doesn't mean construction will start any time soon. The redevelopment plan remains in the proposal phase, said village spokesman Stewart Lewack.

Architects are reworking plans based on feedback from the Architectural Review Commission, which reviews proposed changes to structures in the Hyde Park Historic District. The board had concerns about the height of 100-foot condo towers planned on the theater site and the Brooks Brothers building on Snow Avenue.

Sunrise's departure will leave yet another void in the already struggling village. A walk around the center suggests a need for change. The Snow Circle Shops area behind the Cactus Club is dead. Longtime tenants Stationery Square, Blackhawk Coffee Cafe, Aldo Brioni jewelers and Austen-Hyde leather are gone. So are more recent additions, such as the Wild Orchid and the lingerie shop that was there so briefly that I forget the name.

Obviously, the new owner has to do something if the center is to survive - and thrive. Closing the theater and building condos might not be everyone's answer. But do nothing and nothing changes. Hopefully, the final plans will work for everyone involved.

THE LAST DROP: Pity the beer-can building at Kennedy Boulevard and Ashley Drive. Not only does the Tampa Museum of Art not want it for a home, but the building has an identity crisis. Over the years, the cylindrical tower has been called the NCNB building, the Bank of America building, 400 North Ashley Plaza and Rivergate Tower. Now Sykes has its name on top in huge red letters that seem a little harsh, given the sleek architecture.

Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.

[Last modified August 24, 2006, 08:14:25]