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provided is as luxurious, and the sight and sound systems as
<br />technologically up to date, as possible. Video games, coffee
<br />shops, and the usual popcorn and candy are de rigueur. A
<br />proposed development in Dallas will be equipped with golf carts
<br />to transport people from the parking lot to the theater
<br />(presumably not a viable option in less equable climates).
<br />
<br />Location, Location
<br />Multiplex developers usually pick one of two types of locations.
<br />One involves stand-alone structures in existing or newly
<br />developing shopping centers; the other type is an element of an
<br />existing entertainment complex as part ora strategy to revitalize
<br />a dying downtown. In either case, the theater developers seek to
<br />provide a holistic entertainment experience by trying to locate
<br />their theaters near coffee shops, restaurants and retail,
<br />interactive video parlors, or sports facilities, in all cases, the
<br />same concerns apply--traffic congestion, the need for additional
<br />parking, noise, and security. In addition, where public funding
<br />is used through a device such as a tax increment financing (TIF)
<br />district, concern arises over the long-term viability of these
<br />projects. These concerns are especially relevant in efforts to
<br />revitalize blighted downtown areas.
<br />
<br />Multiplex developers have most often met
<br />with unyielding opposition from citizen
<br />groups in suburbs and small towns.
<br />Grassroots movements of citizens have
<br />beaten back prOposed multiplexes where
<br />they fear the impacts on residential
<br />communities. They fear too much traffic
<br />congestion and too many people will
<br />result in noise late at night and Possibly
<br />in petty, crime from teen-aged patrons.
<br />
<br /> Entertainment Districts. These days, downtown Kansas
<br />City, Missouri, is dead after 5:30 p.m. But Kansas City Power
<br />and Light (KCP&L) has proposed an entertainment center
<br />containing a 30-screen multiplex. It has lavished great attention
<br />on the design of this complex in order to preserve a sidewalk
<br />orientation with good pedestrian access. This is important
<br />because multiplexes by their very size and need for parking can
<br />remove pedestrian traffic from the street. KCP&L has proposed
<br />an underground parking structure with 4,000 spaces, together
<br />with some shared parking with existing offices, to deal with the
<br />need for additional parking. Despite the firm's careful attention
<br />to economic and design issues, the city council has concerns
<br />about the proposed tax increment financing, which has a
<br />payback of 23 ),ears. It has not yet approved the project.
<br /> Another development aimed at revitalizing a blighted area is
<br />proposed for the inner-city neighborhood of North Lawndale on
<br />Chicago's West Side. This 1 O-screen, 2,500-seat theater, to be
<br />.built by Cineplex Odeon of Toronto, will be located in a new
<br />shopping center being developed in a large open space with more
<br />than adequate parking. The development will sen, e an important
<br />
<br />need in a community that has no movie theater within a radius
<br />of four miles. Supporters hope it will produce 50 part-time jobs
<br />and increase retail and restaurant business in the area. The
<br />project will be financed with the help ofa TIF district.
<br /> Entertainment-related developments incorporating
<br />multiplexes are already established and working well so far ,n
<br />several California cities, including Irvine, Sacramento, Pasadena,
<br />Santa Monica, and San Luis Obispo. Like Kansas City, San Luis
<br />Obispo achieved a design for its Downtown Centre that is
<br />pedestrian-friendly and well integrated with the existing street
<br />system despite the fact that the seven-screen movie theater is
<br />located underground. Street performers are welcome, and stores
<br />and restaurants also flourish. San Luis Obispo planner Pamela
<br />Ricci describes the Downtown Centre as "very, very successful."
<br /> New York's revitalized Times Square will be the site ora 25-
<br />screen multiplex on 42nd Street early next ),ear. Additional
<br />parking is not a concern. "We don't allow parking in Times
<br />Square," says a New York City planner. New Yorkers assume
<br />that it will be a success. The developer, AMC, is confident
<br />enough that it has decided to show some art films instead of the
<br />usual far~ consisting strictly of blockbuster movies.
<br /> According to John Cope, a partner in Maguire Thomas
<br />Partners, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer, multiplex
<br />theaters in the context of entertainment centers can pardy trace
<br />their success to the pressure of time on two-income families
<br />who want to consolidate all their entertainment needs in one
<br />locationJmovies, restaurants (usually fast food), and retail
<br />(usually impulse retail). If, in addition, cities can use them
<br />successfully as a means to divert the shopping and movie-going
<br />public back to struggling downtowns, they will become a
<br />powerful economic tool.
<br /> Suburban Shopping Centers. Many multiplexes are located as
<br />stand-alone structures in suburban sites, usually in shopping
<br />malls where existing movie theaters can be torn down or
<br />converted. Often they occur in clusters in such close proximity
<br />ro each other that it seems likely they will be competing for the
<br />same audience. For instance, in the Kansas City metropolitan
<br />area, multiplexes are located in Kansas City and Independence,
<br />Missouri, and Olathe, Leeward, and Overland Park, Kansas. It
<br />remains to be seen how many of these theaters will still be in
<br />business two years from now.
<br />
<br />Parking
<br />Most communities deal with the parking issue by expecting the
<br />multiplex developer to conform to their existing parking
<br />standards for movie theaters. These standards use a ratio of
<br />parking spaces to either seats or square footage. In the Oakwood
<br />Plaza in Hollywood, Florida, and in Independence, Missouri,
<br />the standard is one space per four seats. Sarasota, Florida,
<br />requires one space for each 350 square feet of floor area. In
<br />suburban shopping malls or office parks, the developer usually
<br />buys enough land to provide extra parking. In some cases,
<br />parking standards may be reduced on the understanding that
<br />there will be informal shared parking with other existing uses.
<br />Olathe reduced the required 1,500 spaces for a 30-screen
<br />multiplex theater to 1,315 and reduced the 2,479 required for
<br />the entire shopping center to 2,294. It remains to be seen
<br />whether these standards will prove adequate.
<br /> Multiplex developers have most often met with unyielding
<br />opposition from citizen groups in suburbs and small towns.
<br />Grassroots movements of'citizens have beaten back proposed
<br />multiplexes where they fear the impacts on residential communities.
<br />They fear too much traffic congestion and too many peop{e will
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