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Demolitions
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August 22, 2017
Long Branch, NJ - Demolition starts on West End movie theater
From the Asbury Park Press: The giant steel teeth of an excavator tore the back wall off the old West End movie theater, exposing rows of blue seats as the planned demolition began on Monday morning.
The 1970s-era theater on Ocean Boulevard, which hasn’t shown a movie in nearly 20 years, is being razed for a mixed-used building that will house a synagogue and seven retail storefronts.
Locals remember the theater as a popular hang out for “Indie-style” or independent movies.
“It was a good place to go on a Friday or Saturday night for a few bucks and then go over to the Ink Well for coffee,” said city resident and Long Branch Historical Association member Beth Woolley.
The theater opened on Feb. 15, 1974, with a showing of “Crazy Joe,” starring Peter Boyle and Walt Disney’s “Fantasia.”
The theater was called “The Movies I and II” and was a twin complex that could show two movies and sit 650 people. The Music Makers Theatre chain eventually acquired it.
Two vacant adjacent structures to the theater that were most recently occupied by a bagel shop, a uniform clothing store and an Italian restaurant will also be demolished — but at a later date. An unoccupied two-story apartment building behind the theater is also expected to be knocked down in the future.
“The theater is being demolished (Monday). At this point that is the only building that has been issued a demolition permit,” said Kevin B. Hayes, the city’s acting business administrator.
A video of the theater’s demolition can be seen above.
Chabad of the Shore, a nonprofit religious institution at 620 Ocean Ave., owns the buildings.
The Chabad of the Shore’s site plan was approved by the borough’s Planning Board last October, after initially being denied by the Zoning Board in 2013.
That rejection was made on the basis that religious uses were not permitted in the city’s West End, a neighborhood of small businesses and residences a block from the beach.
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June 7, 2017
Long Branch, NJ - Old West End Movie Theater, Vacant Stores To Be Razed This Summer
From WordOnTheShore.com: The owner of a large block of West End which includes a vacant movie theater and several stores has begun the process of preparing the structures for demolition.
Long Branch Business Administrator Kevin Hayes said the owners, Chabad Of The Shore, a non-profit religious and educational institution currently located at 620 Ocean Ave, has hired a licensed contractor to perform asbestos abatement on the theater and any of the buildings that require it.
Once the abatement is complete, Hayes said he expects the owners to submit a demolition application to the city within the next two weeks. The city’s construction official will review the application and if all goes well, demolition could begin shortly after July 4.
Chabad Of The Shore has been given approval to build a mixed use project which includes retail on the first floor and religious uses on the second and third floors.
The building’s first floor will include space for seven retail stores, including what could be a restaurant in the northernmost portion. The types of retail stores have not yet been decided, and Chabad’s attorney, Stephen Tripp, said there are currently no limitations as to the type of businesses that will be allowed, as long as they are accepted uses in the zone.
The second floor will include a sanctuary, social hall, library, kitchen, offices, patio, small group assembly area, and related facilities. The top floor will include classroom space for religious schooling and daycare.
Onsite parking will be provided to the rear of the building, and will be accessible via West End Court and Brighton Court. The lot will have 94 parking spaces that can be shared with surrounding neighborhood when they are not being used by the Chabad for special services.
The C-3 West End Overlay District allowed Chabad Of The Shore to apply to planning board and not the Long Branch Zoning Board of Adjustment, which denied the group’s previous plan, which did not include retail on the first floor. The zoning overlay allows houses of worship to be placed not he second floor as long as a portion of the first floor contains retail.
Chabad of the Shore applied to the Long Branch Zoning Board of Adjustment in 2012 to build a two-story building containing a 200-seat sanctuary, a 200-person capacity multipurpose room with a kitchen on the second floor, and five classrooms, office space and a room for religious services in the area of the old movie theater, West End Deli and Bagel and Lou’s Uniforms in West End.
That board’s denial of the use variance in 2013, caused Menachem to sue the city later that year. The litigation was dismissed as the city and Menachem worked together to create a new plan that was acceptable for both sides.
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March 24, 2017
Brooklyn, NY - Bed-Stuy’s historic Slave Theater has been torn down
From Curbed NY: Bed-Stuy’s Slave Theater, a nexus of black culture from 1984 to 1998 and the birthplace of a new wave of political activism in a time of heightened race relations in NYC, is no more. Brownstoner swung by to find that the historic building at 1215 Fulton Avenue, between Bedford and Nostrand streets, has been completely demolished. In its heyday, the theater was a gathering place for rallies lead by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who credited the talks with shifting the center of New York’s civil rights movement from Harlem to Brooklyn in a 2012 Times article. Now cleared, the site is awaiting its future as a mixed-use building developed by Industrie Capital Partners.
Although the Slave shuttered in 1998, its demise began a decade later following the death of its proprietor, Judge John L. Phillips Jr.. The theater became embroiled in a dramatic ownership dispute with allegations of elder abuse, back taxes, and politically-motivated revenge. The property was poised to hit the foreclosure auction block in July 2012, prompting local theater group New Brooklyn Theatre’s attempt to crowdfund the Slave back into existence.
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Alton, IL - Alton plans to demolish local movie theater
From KSDK.com: A long-abandoned movie theater in the Metro East may soon be facing the wrecking ball.
Alton Cine, a 300-seat cinema located off of Homers Adam Parkway in Alton, Ill., closed its doors for good in 1998. But despite the 19-year closure, city leaders hope to tear down what locals consider to be an eyesore.
The announcement was initially made during a mayoral candidate forum earlier this month.
According to Alton Mayor Brant Walker, a private owner has maintained the property that has sat in disrepair for nearly two decades. The cinema has remained in poor conditions both inside and out, including the roof reportedly falling in on itself.
Mayor Walker said the city plans to assess the building for asbestos. Once the asbestos is removed, the building reportedly won’t take long to level out. He did not give an exact date for demolition.
Mayor Walker said he believed ‘Titanic’ was the last showing at Alton Cine.
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March 9, 2017
Lakewood, OH - See The Inside Of Lakewood’s Hilliard Square Theater Before Demolition
From the Lakewood Patch: The Hilliard Square Theater was built in 1927, and at that time it was one of the premier theater structures in the Cleveland area. The theater has gone through numerous transitions since its opening: silent movies, an “art-theater” showing adult films and what a lot of people still remember, the place to see a midnight showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The 1,200-seat theater was closed in 1988 and was eventually purchased by Bob Dobush in an effort to save it from being torn down. Unfortunately, Dobush didn’t have the funding or resources to properly maintain the theater or make necessary repairs, and the building began to deteriorate.
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February 28, 2017
Worcester, MA - X-fated: Wrecking ball looms for storied Paris Cinema
From The Telegram: Demolition of one of the buildings that has been targeted for the wrecking ball, as part of the Worcester Redevelopment Authority’s Downtown Urban Revitalization Plan, could begin as early as next Wednesday.
Quincy-based development group MG2 has indicated to city officials it hopes to begin the demolition of the former Paris Cinema at 66-70 Franklin St. on March 1.
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January 5, 2017
Richmond, VA - Westhampton Theater building being demolished now to make way for project
From The Richmond Times-Dispatch: The Westhampton Theater in Richmond’s West End is coming down. So far, about half of the old building at 5706 Grove Ave. has been demolished to make way for Westhampton on Grove, a hotly debated retail, office and residential development that the Richmond City Council unanimously approved in late July. Construction is expected to start in February or March with a planned completion in January 2018, developer Jason Guillot said. Westhampton on Grove will house retail on the first floor, offices on the second floor and as many as 12 apartments on the third floor. The first floor was to be occupied by a Long & Foster location, a Mango Salon, a Tazza Kitchen restaurant and Taste Unlimited, a Hampton Roads-based gourmet market chain. However, Tazza Kitchen has pulled out. The other commercial tenants still plan to come and will occupy their spaces in spring or summer of 2018, Guillot said. Taste Unlimited is looking at a mid-summer 2018 opening. “The goal for Tazza was to open in 2017, but because of the time to get city approvals, they have since moved on,” Guillot said. The restaurant is working on opening a location in Scott’s Addition.
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October 18, 2016
Dunwoody, GA - When will the historic Brook Run theater in Dunwoody be demolished?
From The Atlanta Journal Constitution:
The 102-acre Brook Run Park in Dunwoody includes a dog park, a community garden, a skate park, a playground, a trail and even a zip line course.But one thing it soon will not include: a beloved 34,000-square-foot building built in 1966 that served as the “de facto town center for the Georgia Retardation Center for more than 30 years,” according to a July letter to city officials from the nonprofit support group, Brook Run Conservancy.
Hundreds of people — including Rodney Mims Cook Jr., who is credited with saving the Fox theater in the 1970s — wanted the building to be saved.
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October 3, 2016
Robbinsdale, MN - Crews demolish historic movie theater in Minnesota
From The Des Moines Register: Crews have demolished a historic movie theater in Robbinsdale after preservationists lost a fight to save it.
Demolition resumed Friday on the Terrace Theatre in the northwest Minneapolis suburb. A bulldozer knocked down most of the old building Saturday.
Two groups trying to stop the demolition could not come up with the $6 million needed to save it by a Friday deadline. Preservationists had won a temporary reprieve from a Hennepin County judge, but he also required them to post a bond.
KSTP-TV reports crews say the building should be completely knocked down early this week. Iowa-based Hy-Vee had planned a 91,500-square-foot grocery where the theater stood, but put those plans on hold after a push to save the Terrace.
The Terrace opened in 1951 and closed in 1999.
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September 12, 2016
Missoula, MT - Stockman Bank gets permission to demolish old Cine 3 movie theater
From The Missoulian:
A vacant movie theater in Missoula that has become a magnet for crime soon will be torn down to make way for a new bank.The Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s Board of Directors has approved a request from Stockman Bank to proceed with demolishing the old Cine 3 movie theater building at 3601 Brooks.
The bank intends to construct a new two-story bank building and one other commercial or office building at the site. It’s expected to be complete within two years because the ongoing construction of a massive new six-story Stockman Bank building downtown is occupying the company’s resources.
However, the current movie theater building – which has been vacant for 10 years – has apparently become an immediate problem for both the owners and the Missoula Police Department because it has been frequented recently by people engaging in illegal activity.
“The owner is regularly cleaning up used syringes and empty alcoholic beverage containers, and the rear of the building has become a dumping ground for abandoned vehicles,” said MRA executive director Ellen Buchanan in a memo. “Neighboring businesses are increasingly expressing concern about vandalism and criminal activity.”
She added that Missoula Police Chief Mike Brady has requested increased patrols around the building, but there continue to be issues. Brady has also asked that the MRA help expedite the removal of the building and the cleanup of the lot.
The bank asked to proceed with demolishing the building without prejudicing any future requests they may make for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance, because the site is in an Urban Renewal District.
Randy Rupert, the regional director of business development for CTA Architects, is working for Stockman Bank on the building. He said that the bank is ready to demolish the current building within four or five weeks.
“Two weeks ago we got broken into again,” he said. “It’s been blighted long enough for the city of Missoula. People know the building’s empty and they find ways in. It’s probably the only deserted property around there.”
The bank plans to recycle as much of the materials from the deconstruction as it can.
The Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s board also approved a request from the Missoula Housing Authority to proceed without prejudice on moving forward with prepping the site at 110 N. California St. for a new six-unit affordable housing complex. The MHA has been awarded a $700,000 state grant for the project, but they need to get going in order to not jeopardize the funding. Each unit will be one-bedroom.
The board also approved a $79,720 TIF request from the North Missoula Community Development Corp. to deconstruct the existing house at 503 E. Front St. to build seven affordable housing units. The NMCDC will own the land, and sell two-bedroom units for around $130,000, and four-bedroom units for around $150,000, well below market value. However, the resale value of each unit is capped so that they remain affordable for future buyers while still rewarding homeowners for the equity they’ve put in as good caretakers.
“It’s really exciting for us to get some permanent affordable homeownership downtown, which is an extremely rare commodity,” said Jerry Petasek of the NMCDC.
Finally, the board approved a TIF request of $22,216 from the owners of the 16-unit apartment building at 534 E. Front St., on the corner of Madison Street, for sidewalk improvements. The owners are renovating the entire building, and the taxpayer money will go to fund right-of-way improvements.