A 12-screen downtown movie theater complex in the works for the corner of High and Broadway since early 2014 is moving forward, with construction set to begin this summer.
The 90,000-square-foot Krikorian Premiere Theatres complex, which will replace what is currently a surface parking lot across from Rupp Arena, will include Lexington’s first IMAX-style 100-foot-wide movie screen, a 16-lane bowling alley, a multilevel laser tag arena, and an open Vegas-style sports bar and bistro dining area with a 70-foot-wide events screen. The complex is projected to be completed by the summer of 2016, said Harold Tate of Urban Toolbox LLC, the project manager for the theater development.
The project was announced in March 2014, but it ran into delays as the group worked to get contracts signed with the property owners, Tate said.
Krikorian Premiere Theatres currently operates seven movie complexes in southern California. Its president, George Krikorian, who also owns the horse farm Starwood Farms in Versailles, Ky., is a frequent visitor to the Bluegrass. He first contacted Tate with the idea for a downtown movie and entertainment complex in Lexington about five years ago, Tate said, when Tate was heading up the Lexington Downtown Development Authority.
“He was just so impressed with everything that was going on downtown,” Tate said. “He wanted to be there.”
The downtown theater complex will be two stories tall, Tate said, but the higher ceilings required for movie theaters will raise the height of the building to roughly the same height as the nearby parking garage on Broadway. The group has also signed an agreement for use of the parking garage, which will be connected to the new facility.
The theater screening rooms will feature laser projection technology and advanced sound systems, all-stadium seating with reclining chairs and in-seat food and beverage service that can be ordered in advance online or by mobile app. The facility will also feature a full-service restaurant and a food court serving wood-fired pizzas, a sausage grill and a coffee bar. Themed party rooms will be available for birthday parties and other events.
“[George Krikorian] really works to make it a destination, so that all the family members have something to do,” Tate said.
In addition to serving the downtown sector and the north side of Lexington, the new cinema complex will also be located a short walk from many of the new dormitories being built on the north side of the University of Kentucky campus, Tate said. The development is also close to the downtown Hyatt and Hilton hotels, Tate noted, and will provide another entertainment alternative for the city’s downtown tourists.
“It is not just going to help Lexington, but it is going to serve the visitors that come to Lexington, too,” Tate said.