by A 10-screen cinema complex at Burien Town Square would be more than just a cluster of movie auditoriums, Burien City Council members were told Monday night (Nov. 2).
It would become a “social icon” for the community,” predicted Frank Rimkus, president and CEO of Los Angeles-based Galaxy Theatres, who hopes his firm can team with Urban Partners, the private developer of the Town Square project, to bring a multi-screen cinema complex to Burien.
And it could draw an estimated 400,000 movie-goers to downtown Burien annually, Rimkus said. “That would do a lot for retail and restaurants.”
He based this on a general demographic overview, which includes an area-wide population of 130,000 who would be served by the cinema complex – and who would rather stay near home than drive to the movies in neighboring cities.
As a social icon, a cinema complex would relive the prominence held by movie theatres in cities until the mid-20th century,” Rimkus continued. It would include multiple-sized auditoriums comfortable seating, quality food service, on-site parking – and state-of-the-art electronics and digital projection and sound systems.
Councilmembers generally seemed receptive – with some reservations – to the concept during an initial presentation of a plan to build a cinema complex with some retail space during the next phase of Town Square development.
“This community from day one (as a city) wanted an entertainment center,” said retiring City Councilwoman Sally Nelson, who has served on the council since incorporation in 1993. “We have an entertainment gap in the city, in the area.”
Urban Partners current agreement with the city calls for construction of a second condominium-retail complex north of the existing building, which opened in June. But since then, sales of only five condos have closed and no retail space has been leased.
“This has been quite a year,” Paul Keller, managing principal of Urban Partners, told the council before introducing Rimkus. “We obviously have been greatly impacted by the economy and downturns in capital markets.”
Later, Keller added, “Urban Partners is very, very excited about this opportunity … Don’t give up on downtown redevelopment,” he implored the lawmakers. “Don’t give up on Burien real estate. Don’t give up on Urban Partners.”
Mayor Joan McGilton replied, “We don’t give up. We don’t see a lot of the (economic) downturn in Burien with the new businesses that are coming in.”
Keller said development, if approved by the council, would take an estimated 24 to 30 months to complete.
“We believe this is a legitimate opportunity to put a first-class theater here and make it an economic success,” Rimkus said.
Galaxy Theatres is rated in the top 10 percent in the industry by the National Theatre Association. The company, which has 177 screens in the western United States, already has a presence in the Puget Sound region with cinema complexes in Federal Way, Tacoma, Lacey and Gig Harbor. Its website is galaxytheatres.com.
A Galaxy Theatres development at Town Square would be similar to the cinema complex in the Uptown project in Gig Harbor, he said.
Councilwoman Kathy Keene said, “This is an amazing project. I know that residents are looking for something like this.” She said it “would be a great addition to the city.”
Could one of the auditoriums be available for use by Burien Little Theatre, local dance studios and other performing arts groups that need a space with fewer than 300 seats? asked Councilwoman Rose Clark.
Keller said Urban Partners was already aware of this interest by the council and is exploring its feasibility.
Councilman Gordon Shaw said he is “skeptical” because Urban Partners needs “to consider the impact on a change of plans (for Town Square) as well as the impact of moving ahead … there needs to be balance.”
UPDATE 10/21/09: We have added one new business (Bratz, a German cafe) and one re-opening (Skippers) to this story, which we hope will continue to develop…
It may not be a boom. But even as the recession continues to buffet Highline communities, businesses are discovering – and returning to – Burien.
“We have a trickle of new businesses coming in here,” Burien Economic Development Manager Dick Loman told The B-Town Blog recently. “We’re gradually filling up our vacant (commercial) spaces, and it’s happening in the worst economic climate in decades.
“You’d think it would be very quiet, but it’s not,” he said. “It’s very amazing and we’re very fortunate to have this happening.”
NEW BUSINESSES:
- Grand Central Bakery, with popular stores in Pioneer Square and on Eastlake Avenue in Seattle, has announced plans to expand its business by moving into the vacant retail space at 626 SW 152nd St., next to Sylvan Learning Center.
Bratz, a German food store, should open on 6th SW before the end of November.
- And Redfish Grill, already doing a successful business in Tacoma, is going to open a second dining spot in the building recently occupied by The Keg on SW 148th St. at the entrance to the Safeway shopping center.
- Bratz, a German-style fast food cafe, has its signage in place in a spot on 6th SW, just across the street from Sal’s Deli. We spoke with co-owner Robert Lang, who says that the store should open in “two to four weeks” and foodwise to expect “German beer, the world’s best sausages, schnitzels, red cabbage, pretzels, potato salad and more.” Robert and his brother John are both from Germany, and they have one other location in Seattle’s U-District.
BUSINESS RE-OPENINGS:
- Remaining in Burien, after closing its doors when displaced by the third-runway flight path north of Sea-Tac International Airport, is Filiberto’s Cucina Italiana. This popular Italian restaurant, long a local favorite, is moving downtown and will reopen at 653 SW. 152nd St (next to Key Bank).
- Already back in business with new owners is Wizards Casino at 15739 Ambaum Blvd. SW, next to the Hi-Line Lanes bowling alley. The return of Wizards was especially good news for the city – it’s one of Burien’s 10 largest employers.
- Skipper’s Seafood & Chowder, located at the corner of Ambaum Blvd. and SW 148th, has also re-opened.
- In the meantime, Car Pros of Tacoma continues to indicate it will reopen Burien Nissan at Five Corners as soon as their business plan is finalized and approved.
Why this interest? “It starts with the availability of property … on a reasonable-cost basis,” according to Loman, together with marketing studies that indicate these businesses will do well.
Burien has “a reputation of being friendly and a cool place to be … these are destination-type businesses that draw from a much larger area than just Burien. It’s location, location, location.”
As these businesses locate or relocate in Burien, another is expressing interest in coming here – and being the anchor of the phase two development in Town Square.
The Galaxy Theatre in Gig Harbor.
- Loman identified the company that wants to develop a 10-screen cinema complex in Town Square as Galaxy Theaters, headquartered in Los Angeles.
- Galaxy Theatres runs 10 different “first-run” movie complexes in four states, including three in Washington – Monroe, Tacoma and Gig Harbor.
- Here’s a blurb from their website:
Galaxy Theatres, LLC is a fully integrated movie theatre company.
Privately owned, it is ranked by size in the top 10% of its industry, according to the National Theatre Association and currently has theatres in California, Nevada, Texas and Washington.
Formed in 1998, its focus is to develop and operate a portfolio of high impact, state-of-the-art movie entertainment theatres in selected markets of the western United States.
Galaxy Theatres’ award winning business philosophy of “More than just a Theatre” incorporates the best in movie entertainment with the Company’s philosophy of active community service.
“Being socially entrepreneurial builds strong bonds and goodwill in the communities we serve”, according to Frank Rimkus, the Company’s CEO.
- Representatives of both Galaxy and Urban Partners, the private developer of Town Square, will appear before the Burien City Council at the Nov. 2 meeting to discuss their proposal.
