Cinemas renovate, repurpose to stay relevant

The future of movie theaters in the post-pandemic age can go in one of a few directions: renovate, repurpose or redevelop. The August sale of New Haven’s Cine-4 theater attracted numerous interested buyers, most of whom were eyeing demolition and redevelopment. Instead, the cinema will soon find new life as an early educational center after the New Haven-based Friends Center for Children bought the building with plans to renovate. Commercial real estate agent Ricky Ballou represented the Friends school in the Cine-4 purchase. He said it was a unique opportunity to repurpose an old theater. Some cinemas have closed in the two decades since streaming movie services grew in availability and popularity. Others have adapted by modernizing and offering luxury seating, craft food service, convenience ticket ordering, bargain movie nights and state-of-the-art picture and sound systems. Cinemark Theaters, with North Haven and Milford locations, upgraded with new lounge-style seats and higher-end food service including liquor sales. Metro Movies 12 in Wallingford went through renovations in 2012, now offering digital picture and sound systems with stadium rocking chair seating. The historic Bank Street Theater in New Milford is still in business more than 100 years after first opening. The art deco theater had undergone upgrades in 1997 and renovations in 2007-08, including adding 3D and digital features. It also offers private facility rentals and hosts an annual New Milford film festival in late September and early October. Watertown’s Country Cinema was purchased by an investor who has delayed plans to turn the one-screen bay and lobby into an arts, entertainment and community space hosting everything from movies and live performances to receptions and larger local gatherings. Plans that were laid out pre-pandemic have been put on hold indefinitely. In Hartford, owners of an Apple Cinemas movie theater on New Park Avenue are converting part of the 75,000-square-foot property into an entertainment facility offering an arcade, ax-throwing, live music and bar. Maintaining relevancy The Cine-4 listing attracted numerous prospective buyers, nearly all of whom had planned to demolish and rebuild, Ballou said. For developers, the key attraction in a cinema sale is the acreage. “In New Haven, it’s hard to get land,” Ballou said. For the Friends school, it was the existing structure, ample parking area and vast interior space that made it an ideal location for repurposing, he said. Plans call for turning some of the parking area into outdoor green space, leaving one cinema intact and converting the three others into office and learning spaces, and building additional learning centers on the property. “For the Children’s center, Cine-4 was absolutely perfect. Because of the layout, it makes it fairly simple for a breakout of classrooms,” and the property area allows for ample expansion, Ballou said. When trying to sell or buy an old movie theater, the key is “to get creative, to look at change of use,” since theater upgrades can be cost-prohibitive, but not impossible, for small, independent theater owners, he said. Moving into the pandemic recovery phase, movie fans want to emerge from lockdown and work-from-home situations, giving theaters the potential for a rebirth, but they are going to need some big attractions to bring people in, Ballou said. He sees growing popularity in theaters offering food service beyond popcorn and candy, with waiters, full menus, reclining luxurious seats, online ordering and self-checkout capability, and amped up sound systems and screens. “Convenience and luxury are a big part of why some theaters are still relevant,” Ballou said.