Maya Cinemas takes steps toward summer opening
| Tuesday, Apr 07 2009 04:48 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Apr 07 2009 04:51 PM
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Casey Christie / The Californian Workers watch a helicopter lift AC units on top of Maya Cinemas movie theater Tuesday.
Casey Christie / The Californian Ricky Franklin with Moorefield Construction watches a helicopter place AC units on top of the Maya Cinemas movie theater Tuesday morning.
Casey Christie / The Californian The pilot maneuvers his helicopter in place to pick up another load of AC units he was placing on top of the Maya Cinemas movie theater Tuesday.
Maya Cinemas took a high-profile step toward opening this summer when a red helicopter spent much of Tuesday morning plopping heavy air conditioning units on top of the 16-screen movie theater under construction at California Avenue and P Street.
The theater has been more than a decade in the making. It was one of the key anchors of the City Center project, a now defunct commercial and retail entertainment district that at one time was to have included a minor league baseball stadium.
Over the years, land values plummeted, financing fizzled and development in the area all but halted. So if the theater opens as planned in late June or early July, it will be a major milestone.
The opening keeps getting pushed back. But Maya Cinemas President Frank Haffar insisted this time it's really going to happen.
"We're continuing to march on," he said.
The noisy helicopter hovering over the building Tuesday was as visible a sign as any that the theater portion of the development, at least, is on track. The structure is up, a massive building with a 67,000-square-foot footprint. It's 80,000 square feet if you count space upstairs with a party room, conference room and access to five of the 16 screens.
The rest of the project is less certain. Plans call for two other buildings with 30,000 square feet of retail, and a restaurant pad comprising about 5,000 square feet, but nothing has broken ground and no tenants have signed contracts.
Shannon Williams of commercial real estate brokerage Colliers Tingey International said negotiations are underway with several promising prospects, but she declined to name them.
The area is much more attractive now that the theater is certain, Haffar said.
The Bakersfield Redevelopment Agency owns additional land on the east side of Q Street where a drug store and other neighborhood services are planned, said Economic Development Director Donna Kunz. The city is in talks with Southwest Consulting of Laguna Beach to develop about six retail pads totaling 60,000 square feet there, but that's further down the road because existing buildings still must be cleared to make way for development there, Kunz said.
