This is topic 15 Screen Cinemark to Open In Strongsville, Ohio in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-27-2005, 10:10 AM:
 
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports today that Cinemark plans to build a new 15 screen cinema as part of the $60 million effort to renovate the Southpark mall in Strongsville, Ohio. Here is the article below:

SouthPark's $60 million facelift
Mall to add theater, retailers, restaurants
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Janet H. Cho
Plain Dealer Reporter

Westfield SouthPark mall in Strongsville planned a fireworks show Wednesday night to kick off a $60 million expansion and renovation that will add a 15-screen Cinemark movie theater, 26 retailers and two restaurants.

This will be SouthPark's first major update since the 1.3-million- square-foot shopping center opened at Royalton (Ohio 82) and Howe roads in October 1996. Completion is expected in spring 2007.

Westfield SouthPark's managers are hoping the expansion will make the mall fresher and more appealing to the shoppers now flocking to lifestyle centers like Crocker Park in Westlake and Legacy Village in Lyndhurst.

"Westfield has coined the phrase hy-style' for the project, giving a little bit of a lifestyle feel to the property," said Andy Selesnik, the mall's marketing director. "The whole front of the mall will look almost like a streetscape."

He stressed, however, that the changes are not at all related to competition from Crocker Park.

Westfield Corp. Inc. of Australia operates more than 120 shopping centers in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, including six in Ohio. The company is known in the retail industry for snapping up older, enclosed malls and spending millions to expand and update them, branding them with its scarlet "Westfield" logo. The company recently dropped "Shoppingtown" from its mall names.

SouthPark, Westfield's youngest Ohio mall, is among eight U.S. malls undergoing multimillion-dollar facelifts this year.

Westfield also plans to update SouthPark's landscaping, add outdoor dining and relaxation areas and install brick paving.

And in a nod to Northeast Ohio's unpredictable climate, SouthPark will also get a second covered drop-off area, this one at the south entrance.

The Cinemark theater and a 50,000-square-foot Dick's Sporting Goods are the only confirmed tenants, but that almost doesn't matter, said retail consultant Robert Antall, chief executive of LakeWest Group LLC in Cleveland.

"We're heading into the Christmas season, and the more publicity they can get, and the earlier they can get it, the better they'll do," he said. "The Christmas season really starts around the first of November," which is why malls try to generate buzz in September or October.

Legacy Village opened Oct. 24, 2003. Crocker Park opened Oct. 28, 2004.

"Malls in general have been on the decline for the last 10 years, with very few exceptions - and SouthPark and Beachwood Place are the exceptions," Antall said. "But most of the malls are just struggling to survive," and anything that draws more shoppers helps.

"Right now, lifestyle centers are the hot new concept, and they are a novelty," he said. "And once the novelty wears off, I think they will struggle" because Northeast Ohio's climate isn't ideally suited for outdoor shopping centers. "I think that craze will run out."

[ 10-27-2005, 08:48 PM: Message edited by: Joshua Waaland ]
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 10-27-2005, 01:48 PM:
 
Sure wish Cinemark would throw a few dollars at the local theatres. They are by far the worst in the area, in my opinion.

This should probably be moved to the theatre opening thread in Ground Level
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-27-2005, 08:48 PM:
 
Interesting.....the Cinemarks around here are by far the best around. Very top notch. The only exception being one in North Canton that is a dollar house. I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in ground level but when I looked around there seemed to be more threads in film-yak about theaters opening and closing than in ground level, so I posted here.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 10-27-2005, 09:53 PM:
 
There are 4 Cinemark Theatres around here.

First is 15 years old. Other than 3 digital units, it is basically unchanged since the beginning. At one time, it was the finest theatre in the area, with 2 supurb THX-certified rooms. They had the first digital sound in town for JURASSIC PARK.

Second is a dollar house in a suburban shopping center. Also, no changes other than a couple of digital units. Does good business.

Third is a 10-plex that was built right on the cusp of stadium seating. They set the screens high to allow for stadium seating, then never put it in. So, the viewing angles are not very good. A mixture of SDDS and DTS. Again, no upgrades.

There is a 16-plex with a some stadium seating rooms and the first Dolby Digital unit in town. Again, very few upgrades. It is now located close to a gigantic AMC 30-plex, but it still seems to do some business.

They have some very good locations, but there has been no attempt to improve. They are now some of the oldest locations in town.

They were involved in that split-up a few years ago when some of the Cinemark locations were spun off to an insider. Looked the same and sounded the same, but they were'nt allowed to use the term Cinemark. Weird.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised they are still open.
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-28-2005, 06:23 AM:
 
There is four within a half hour of here. One is about a mile away from where I live. It is a 15 screen that I worked at. It was built in the new style without all the neon and they spared no expense when they built it.

The next closest is in Valley View which is about 10 minutes from my house. It is a 24 screen and has a TI digital screen. They also have a coffee shop and small eating joint inside. The second floor has a private area for special guests that includes a bunch of couches and such for parties. It is also a nice theater and is always packed full of people. I sits right in the middle of many cleveland communities that do not have any theaters. It seems kind of odd where it is because it right under the Ohio turnpike in a valley. Lots of trucking businesses and such down there. But low and behold, there are now 3-4 nice restaurants right next to it and a golfing dome. They do really well on weekends.

The manager that I worked for at the 15 plex went to the 24 plex before I quit. I got to see the booth several times and it is a monster. Broken up into 4 or so pieces and LOTS of walking. Hard to keep an eye on everything.

The third and fourth Cinemark are in North Canton. One being the dollar house which is not stadium seating and leaves a little to be desired. Also kind of in a weird place on a side road that doesn't get a lot of traffic. About 2 miles from that theater is a Tinseltown 10 screen. It is right in the middle of a nice shopping center. Makes me think they built it to replace the other one and just turned the first into the dollar house. The Tinseltown is okay but nothing to get too excited about.

The Cinemark and Carmike I used to work at in Sandusky are both much like the Cinemarks near you. They have been forgotten and are getting pretty out of date. I'm surprised that Cinemark missed out on building at the Easton shopping center in Columbus.
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 10-28-2005, 12:38 PM:
 

quote: Joshua Waaland

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I got to see the booth several times and it is a monster. Broken up into 4 or so pieces and LOTS of walking.

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