From San Mateo Daily Journal
San Bruno going to the movies
By Heather Murtagh
Butter-drenched popcorn and larger-than-life screens will soon be available in San Bruno when the long-awaited 20-screen movie theater opens at the Shops at Tanforan next Friday.
The $140 million renovation of Tanforan began in 2003. Shops reopened in October 2005 originally with plans to open the Sears parking lot topped with the theater that November. After some set backs, a public opening is planned for Friday, April 18 including a celebration with $1 popcorn and soda specials.
The opening will be important for Tanforan, said Mayor Larry Franzella.
"It will bring in foot traffic, which in turn will bring sales tax for the city," Franzella said.
Two things held up the project, said Community Development Director Aaron Aknin. First, the building is just complicated, he said.
The 20-screen theater sits atop a parking structure near Sears. Moviegoers will enter the mall using a walkway from the parking lot. The ticket window is on the second floor by the food court. A second walkway will be used for getting to the theater after buying a ticket.
Secondly, Century was bought by Cinemark during construction, slowing the process, said Aknin.
A six-screen theater was previously housed at the site prior to the renovations. In 2001, developer Wattson Breevast of Newport Beach purchased the 32-year-old mall with plans to create a 1.1 million-square-foot shopping complex known as the Shops at Tanforan. The 22-acre spot closed in 2003 for renovations. Opening the theater marks the completion of the renovations which began five years ago.
Representatives for Cinemark did not return a call.
E-mail Heather Murtagh at heather@smdailyjournal.com |
