CONWAY: Theater closed to begin construction

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — The movie posters have been taken down, the popcorn and drink machines have been removed, and the Cinemark Cinema 6 has been closed to start a ninemonth project to build a new theater.

“We’re shooting for a November opening,” said Derek Alley, one of the landlords of the Conway Towne Centre. “Before Thanksgiving is the goal.”

The theater closed a week ago today, and Alley said a staging area for demolition was scheduled to be set up Friday.

The current theater has six screens and 12,236 square feet; the new theater will have 12 screens and approximately 40,000 square feet, Alley said.

He said that in addition to stadium seating, “It’s going to be an XD auditorium, the new technology. It’s not quite IMAX, but it has the capability for the 3-D movies.”

His father, Sam Alley, is one of the owners of the shopping center and CEO of VCC Construction of Little Rock, the general contractor for the project.

Sam said in a previous interview that it is a $7million to $8 million project.

“It’s exciting news for central Arkansas as a whole and Conway, in particular,” Sam said when contacted Wednesday. “It’s really a big thing, especially in this economy.”

The new theater is part of a larger plan by Conway Towne Centre owners to update and revive the shopping center, which was built in 1986 and has lost several tenants in the past few years.

“We’re going to make it look nice - bring it into the 21st century, so to speak,” Sam said, laughing.

“We want to make this center something Conway can be proud of,” Derek said. “It’s just kind of been sitting there.

“We’re going to do pretty extensive facade work, so instead of a new building sitting there attached to a sore thumb, we’ll tie in all the colors, do new landscaping and lighting, new striping in the parking lot and give it a new Towne Centre feel.”

He said a walkway/patio will be constructed between the new theater and the building next to it to allow people to park in the back and walk up to the theater.

“We’re anticipating getting a lot of new retailers in, hopefully, with the buzz this new theater will bring,” he said.

Conway has one other theater - Faulkner Cinema 6 off Oak Street.

“We’re still working with several different people, still working on a couple of clothing stores there,” said Gary Smith, director of business development for Flake & Kelley Commercial in Little Rock, which manages and leases the shopping center. “We’ve had some interest from a bridal store, a medical company. None of these are solidified.

“We’re still recruiting tenants and trying to make a good mix that will complement all the other tenants, … make it kind of a regional center for Greenbrier, Conway, Vilonia, El Paso. … We feel like that’s where the people will be coming to shop and eat. We want to make it a friendly atmosphere that people will want to come to.”

At one time, the Conway Towne Centre was home to Walmart and Hastings, but one by one, several stores moved. Office Depot has part of the space once occupied by Walmart but has a different owner than the rest of the Towne Centre.

J.C. Penney has remained in the center, and Hibbett Sports expanded into an empty space next door in recent months.

Larry Thomas, one of the managers of Hibbett Sports, said the location of the center, off U.S. 65, is a good one.

“With us expanding, it’s showing you can have something here and be successful,” he said.

“Maurices and Stage and all that moved out, and it kind of got dead,” he said, adding that Hibbett Sports has been there since the mid-1990s.

China Town Restaurant, as well as Stroman’s, had to be moved to other locations in the shopping center to make room for the expanded theater.

The Dollar Tree relocated to the Conway Towne Centre in October.

“We moved out here and we’ve done awesome,” manager Wendy Wright said.

Wright said the theater traffic increases business at the Dollar Tree.

“We a lot of theirbusiness because a lot of people will come early and buy their tickets, and they’ll have 45 minutes, so they’ll come in here or go to J.C. Penney,” she said.

Wright said she’s not concerned about the months the theater will be closed, though. She said that in addition to having lots of parking, the store is in a visible location from U.S. 65, which includes a stoplight at the entrance to the shopping center.

“Here, you drive by and see everything,” she said.

Thomas said he’s looking forward to having a new theater in Conway.

“I think Conway is in dire need of a new theater, and it will keep money in town instead of people going to Little Rock,” he said.

- tkeith@ arkansasonline.com

River Valley Ozark, Pages 135 on 02/28/2010

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