Hey CinemarkFan, bit late reading your post but I was in Old Ford City 3 after I lucked out with Harlem Corners and River Oaks 7-8. The main area of the space is still looking good no one has been inside since 91-93 for lease. The concession area is still up, the second floor projector rooms looked alright. The problem is the bathrooms were completely gutted and not repaired, all 3 screens are torn to shreds, and alot of seats were broken or totally removed.
Hey I was in 7-8 back in 2009, I’m shocked to hear they may knock em down. When I did my 2 walk thrus the building they were still in real good condition. I made 2 offers to management to use both screen 2-3 times a month, but they passed telling me they had a dance school that wanted it for practice and plays. Shame to see it go.
Finally an update that should ease a few minds at the property managers offices. A small gym company did a walk thru and have decided to see if anyone is willing to join. Just did a quick drive by last week and seen some blue prints of what they would have planned if and when they move in. I really don’t see this place taking off anytime soon…but I guess they proved someone could take over all that empty space. They have an ad for employment on craigslist with a 507 area code (minnesota).
Hi all, Just wanted to update on HC. No new plans for anything with the site. The village had the owner (property managers) enclose the front of the site with actual metal and glass doors, as the 2x4 and plywood subdoorway made no sense if they were not planning to do any work. Guessing they removed the lettering and marquee display as same time
To answer your question Robin, Yes, I mean Maybe, I mean wait….(thinking)…..The theater is gone, The gym is a dead idea, So yeah the site is half ripped apart. Who is gonna want that much bare space plus the floor partially tore up. In my opinion the managers (or owner if he had to approve) saw big dollar signs and a long term leasee and got burned.
On a different subject, Sec. of State Jesse White (DMV office) took over the Franks Nursery and Crafts site that I originally said should have been offered to Ballys due to the open outdoor lot, plus the storefront. DMV office now works out of the storefront and the side lot is the waiting area for those needing to take a road test. So Harlem Corners Mall may hang on thanks to the DMV, but there will continue to be a big empty space that will remain unrentable.
Update: Drove by again, nothing new has been done to the building (still 4 bare walls) and the date on the permits have expired. All equipment has been removed….
Update: Seems my feeling may ring true…the constuction of the Ballys has stopped. Drove by to see how it looks and how far they are from finishing (they had a June 2009 opening date planned) Talked to a few employees of near by shops and was told they have not worked all this year….and they don’t miss the noise. Can’t say if they are walking away….yet, but it don’t look good.
Hey mindhunter, When I went by that day in Nov it was bare walls. The 3 empty stores to the left were empty from the start, the actual theater screens, seats, consession were gone…I did see some stuff like a busted set a seats (Guess the crews kept it to take a break in). The last time I drove past they had a crew of jackhammer bobcats tearing the floor open for the planned pool, and a few welding crews reinforning the ceiling spans.
But on a secondary note…it was not long after they tore the building up that I heard that Bally’s was undergoing bankruptcy protection…..I don’t think I would want to be the owner of that property if Ballys takes a “dive”, Cause if they thought it would be hard to rent a almost fully functionial movie theater….try renting a (empty) fintess gym…..or pay to remove a pool.
With a heavy heart I have to comments that I drove by Harlem Corners today. Crews were removing the doors & windows from the 3 empty store fronts and have boarded up the theaters main entry. I waited a about 10-15 minutes and a big rig dumpster showed up and the driver opened the door for me. I’ll admit I did not like what I saw…Harlem Corners is offically gone, all that remains is a few beams and some odds and ends.
Just a quick comment, First off I’m not against the idea of putting a Ballys in the Harlem Corners Mall. I just wanna know why not move it 2 storefronts west. The old Franks Nursery Crafts would have been better. More space, could have been rebuilt as a brand new building and not trying to shoehorn Ballys into the theater space.
I can see wanting to open a theater thats currently built versus a store front with a open space garden dept. If someone a year from now would like to open it they could but now….Once she is cleared its gone.
Say goodbye to Harlem Corners Theater….a sign went up in the front window this week. The building will be modified top to bottom for a Bally’s fitness gym. It beaks my heart to see it go, especialy once the construction begins. The plans show warmup room, kiddie gym, weight room and swimming pool. All we can hope is that construction cost or plans won’t get thru the village board and they scrap the idea.
Drove past HC last week and gave the property managers a call for info, The gentleman that handles it told me they are in talks with a company that wants the location. Was a bit tight lipped as far as if they wanted it for a theater or were planning somthing else. He sounded like they were planning to modify the building. He stumbled over the wording “Your looking for some of the theater space?” …Some, Hmmm. Not sure how more than one company or group can run out of the same site at same time. I did notice that 3 of the theaters on the right side are located behind a already existing retail site that is empty. Maybe they want the building space on the right and expand the back for storage/delivery. Can’t say I’d blame them….kinda odd for a retail space not to have a back door or delivery area.
Hey CinemarkFan, bit late reading your post but I was in Old Ford City 3 after I lucked out with Harlem Corners and River Oaks 7-8. The main area of the space is still looking good no one has been inside since 91-93 for lease. The concession area is still up, the second floor projector rooms looked alright. The problem is the bathrooms were completely gutted and not repaired, all 3 screens are torn to shreds, and alot of seats were broken or totally removed.
Hey I was in 7-8 back in 2009, I’m shocked to hear they may knock em down. When I did my 2 walk thrus the building they were still in real good condition. I made 2 offers to management to use both screen 2-3 times a month, but they passed telling me they had a dance school that wanted it for practice and plays. Shame to see it go.
Finally an update that should ease a few minds at the property managers offices. A small gym company did a walk thru and have decided to see if anyone is willing to join. Just did a quick drive by last week and seen some blue prints of what they would have planned if and when they move in. I really don’t see this place taking off anytime soon…but I guess they proved someone could take over all that empty space. They have an ad for employment on craigslist with a 507 area code (minnesota).
Hi all, Just wanted to update on HC. No new plans for anything with the site. The village had the owner (property managers) enclose the front of the site with actual metal and glass doors, as the 2x4 and plywood subdoorway made no sense if they were not planning to do any work. Guessing they removed the lettering and marquee display as same time
To answer your question Robin, Yes, I mean Maybe, I mean wait….(thinking)…..The theater is gone, The gym is a dead idea, So yeah the site is half ripped apart. Who is gonna want that much bare space plus the floor partially tore up. In my opinion the managers (or owner if he had to approve) saw big dollar signs and a long term leasee and got burned.
On a different subject, Sec. of State Jesse White (DMV office) took over the Franks Nursery and Crafts site that I originally said should have been offered to Ballys due to the open outdoor lot, plus the storefront. DMV office now works out of the storefront and the side lot is the waiting area for those needing to take a road test. So Harlem Corners Mall may hang on thanks to the DMV, but there will continue to be a big empty space that will remain unrentable.
Update: Drove by again, nothing new has been done to the building (still 4 bare walls) and the date on the permits have expired. All equipment has been removed….
Update: Seems my feeling may ring true…the constuction of the Ballys has stopped. Drove by to see how it looks and how far they are from finishing (they had a June 2009 opening date planned) Talked to a few employees of near by shops and was told they have not worked all this year….and they don’t miss the noise. Can’t say if they are walking away….yet, but it don’t look good.
Hey mindhunter, When I went by that day in Nov it was bare walls. The 3 empty stores to the left were empty from the start, the actual theater screens, seats, consession were gone…I did see some stuff like a busted set a seats (Guess the crews kept it to take a break in). The last time I drove past they had a crew of jackhammer bobcats tearing the floor open for the planned pool, and a few welding crews reinforning the ceiling spans.
But on a secondary note…it was not long after they tore the building up that I heard that Bally’s was undergoing bankruptcy protection…..I don’t think I would want to be the owner of that property if Ballys takes a “dive”, Cause if they thought it would be hard to rent a almost fully functionial movie theater….try renting a (empty) fintess gym…..or pay to remove a pool.
With a heavy heart I have to comments that I drove by Harlem Corners today. Crews were removing the doors & windows from the 3 empty store fronts and have boarded up the theaters main entry. I waited a about 10-15 minutes and a big rig dumpster showed up and the driver opened the door for me. I’ll admit I did not like what I saw…Harlem Corners is offically gone, all that remains is a few beams and some odds and ends.
Just a quick comment, First off I’m not against the idea of putting a Ballys in the Harlem Corners Mall. I just wanna know why not move it 2 storefronts west. The old Franks Nursery Crafts would have been better. More space, could have been rebuilt as a brand new building and not trying to shoehorn Ballys into the theater space.
I can see wanting to open a theater thats currently built versus a store front with a open space garden dept. If someone a year from now would like to open it they could but now….Once she is cleared its gone.
Say goodbye to Harlem Corners Theater….a sign went up in the front window this week. The building will be modified top to bottom for a Bally’s fitness gym. It beaks my heart to see it go, especialy once the construction begins. The plans show warmup room, kiddie gym, weight room and swimming pool. All we can hope is that construction cost or plans won’t get thru the village board and they scrap the idea.
Drove past HC last week and gave the property managers a call for info, The gentleman that handles it told me they are in talks with a company that wants the location. Was a bit tight lipped as far as if they wanted it for a theater or were planning somthing else. He sounded like they were planning to modify the building. He stumbled over the wording “Your looking for some of the theater space?” …Some, Hmmm. Not sure how more than one company or group can run out of the same site at same time. I did notice that 3 of the theaters on the right side are located behind a already existing retail site that is empty. Maybe they want the building space on the right and expand the back for storage/delivery. Can’t say I’d blame them….kinda odd for a retail space not to have a back door or delivery area.
CinemarkFan. Would love to talk to you sometime….you seem to know alot about the movie and theater biz that I’d like to know.
My email is in my profile…