Warren Theaters coming to MWC!

[jonny d]

This is awesome!

http://www.mustangpaper.com/2017/02/21/220266/

[FighttheGoodFight]

This kind of stinks "The interior of the theater will be different than the Moore location, which has 21 screens. Midwest City would not have an IMAX screen, a game room or restaurant on the first floor. An enhanced concession will serve food items on the first floor. The building would feature Warren’s trademark grand entrance and two-story lobby. The theater would also include a 12-14 foot berm that would serve as a buffer to the residential north of the property."

[Pete]

Here is a site plan and more info from the City of MWC, which indicates 14 auditoriums vs. the 10 mentioned in the article posted above:

MWC News & Announcements

Posted on: February 21, 2017
Warren Theatres, Inc. announces plan to build new theater in Midwest City

William “Bill” Warren, Founder and President of Warren Theatres, Inc. announced that his company is planning to build and operate a new theater in Midwest City, OK. If the project plan is adopted by the City Council, it will be the company’s ninth theater in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Warren was in Midwest City speaking to city officials and the Local Development Act Review Committee (Committee) about the concept for the new theater. “This proposed theater is our newest and greatest Warren Theatre luxury design,” Warren said. He went on to say that the Midwest City theater will feature 14 auditoriums, including four adult balconies with reclining seats, a second-floor restaurant and bar with upscale concessions on the first floor. All seats throughout the theater will be reserved.

Warren added that the footprint of the theater will not be spared as Midwest City patrons will experience the same upscale finishes, such as granite, marble, hand-painted murals, neon lights, sculpted ceilings and terrazzo flooring as are in all the Warren Theatres. Each auditorium will feature waterfall curtains and the latest state-of-the-art sound and projection technology available.

The proposed theatre will be a part of the second phase of the Sooner Rose Shopping Center, located at S.E. 15th ST and Sooner Road. Phase one of the development includes Academy Sports + Outdoor and Hobby Lobby. Phase 2 of the development will offer additional retail and dining options in addition to the unique entertainment venue.

The project will be managed by Sooner Investment Group (Developer), who also managed the development of the Midwest City Town Center Plaza project and who still manages the day-to-day operations of the project.

Developer representative Leland Clark said that in addition to the theatre, they will be targeting other retail stores and new concept dining options. “This proposed development will be a major district, yet different from the Town Center Plaza. As we are not trying to duplicate that project, we will be trying to bring something entirely new and exciting to the city,” Clark said.

Midwest City Economic Development Director, Robert Coleman, stated that if the project goes through, the city will see an increase in sales and use tax as well as increased ad valorem taxes to the Mid-Del School system, Rose State College and OK County.

Coleman added that the property has pretty much remained dormant since most of it was destroyed in the May 3, 1999 tornado and with the proposed improvements, the result will be the creation of a district that will probably produce over $60 million in gross annual revenues by its fifth year in operation and will create over 300 jobs.

Midwest City Mayor Matt Dukes called this plan a game changer for the City. “This new development concept, including a Warren Theatre is something that our citizens have been asking for a long time. It is very exciting to think that this project, along with the new retail and dining options, could become a reality for our citizens to enjoy,” Dukes said.

In January, the City Council approved a resolution declaring its intent to consider the designation of this area of the city as a Tax Increment Finance District (TIF). Thus, Oklahoma law requires the creation of a Committee and requires that prior to approval by the City Council, the Committee must consider and determine whether the project plan will have a financial impact on any taxing jurisdiction and business activities within the proposed district and shall report its findings to the Council. The approval of any district plan or project by the Council must address any findings of such impact by the Committee.

It is the Committee’s priority to recommend that the project plan be approved, denied or approved subject to conditions set forth by the Committee. If the Committee does recommend approval to the City Council, they will possibly consider the project plan during the second council meeting in March, 2017.

[jn1780]

Did they decide to build a MWC location instead of a north side location or are they still interested in the north side?

[Okiezmom]

Finally a movie theater!

[Pete]

Did they decide to build a MWC location instead of a north side location or are they still interested in the north side?

They will be doing both.

[Eddie1]

This is a good get for MWC, hope the one in Edmond is similar size.

[_Kyle]

This is amazing! Not even 1 mile from my house!

[Brett]

My memory is fading but years ago didn't a tornado travel through the location where the Sooner Rose development is currently located?

[Roger S]

My memory is fading but years ago didn't a tornado travel through the location where the Sooner Rose development is currently located?

Yes

[shawnw]

Once upon a time MWC had 3 indoor and 1 drive-in movie theaters....

[Plutonic Panda]

This is a good get for MWC, hope the one in Edmond is similar size.

Edmond is not getting a Warren.

[gman11695]

My memory is fading but years ago didn't a tornado travel through the location where the Sooner Rose development is currently located?

But the 2013 tornado also clipped the Warren in Moore.

[jn1780]

Edmond is not getting a Warren.

The last I heard was that they were scouting around Eastern and 122nd. Maybe Pete can fill us in on the latest northside location information.

[Plutonic Panda]

The last I heard was that they were scouting around Eastern and 122nd. Maybe Pete can fill us in on the latest northside location information.

Ah I thought the OP was referring to Covell and I-35.

[Bunty]

It would be nice if Stillwater could get a Warren, so there could be something other than the dismal Carmike. But I guess college students don't have the money to go to the movies.

[_Kyle]

“This proposed theatre is our newest and greatest Warren Theatre luxury design,” said William “Bill” Warren, Found and President of Warren Theatres, Inc. http://kfor.com/2017/02/21/plan-anno...-midwest-city/

[Mark356]

hmm MWC? I used to live there---wouldn't this just cannibalize the Moore location? I know there's probably a good customer base in Moore/Norman, but i recall reading that Moore Warren drew a lot of its customers from south OKC...looking forward to one on the North side!

[bombermwc]

Mark, no i dont think so at all. There isn't a movie theater anywhere in the EOC area. The closest one is Crossroads AMC. As mentioned, MWC had several theaters over the years but they were all the old style and had few screens (1/2/3/5). The old single one is long gone with the Town Center development. The 2 screen is now the sole remnant of a strip center at 15th/Air Depot...houses a furniture store...Eckerds used to be there along with some other things that are long gone. Heritage Park had 3, obviously closed. Heritage Plaza had 5, but now it's a church. So really the mall is the only space that wasn't reutilized, which is pretty dang good, but also had something to do with the spaces being smaller.

I'm at 240, but i'd go to this new Warren over Crossroads for sure. For one thing, it's closer to other shopping/eateries. There are 100k+ people in EOC (mostly right there in MWC/DC) so no one can say there aren't enough people to make use of it. With the closest options being as far as they are, i think more people simply don't go to the movies from the EOC right now. 1, being a Warren, and 2, being so close, you'll see a major uptick in moviegoers in the EOC area. It's not RIGHT on the highway,l but you can see I40 from both Sooner and 15th from the parking lot.

This is a million+ likes here.....

[Ginkasa]

hmm MWC? I used to live there---wouldn't this just cannibalize the Moore location? I know there's probably a good customer base in Moore/Norman, but i recall reading that Moore Warren drew a lot of its customers from south OKC...looking forward to one on the North side!

There might be some, but the Moore location is so busy that honestly it won't be a bad thing for both the audience and the theatre if some of the demand was siphoned to another location. The Mustang Paper link in the OP also has Bill Warren reporting that only 10% or less of the Moore Warren customers come from MWC.

[Pete]

In one of the articles about this, Warren was quoted as saying that they did research and found only a small percentage of their Moore customers came from the Midwest City area.

[jonny d]

Now I am curious what that "unique entertainment venue" is going to be. Maybe that is just me getting greedy!

[JesStang]

I'm so excited!! I figured we'd eventually get a theater but I never dreamt it'd be a Warren!

[JesStang]

My memory is fading but years ago didn't a tornado travel through the location where the Sooner Rose development is currently located?

Yep. It hit the Tinker gate on Sooner then kept going north up the road. May 3, 1999.

[bombermwc]

It actually started lifting near I-40 and wasn't technically on the ground right here, but still did plenty of damage.

Home Depot, the Sheraton, Dental Depot, etc are all there now because the tornado took out what was there. I've never forgiven Cracker Barrel for leaving MWC, but i think they ended up seeing how wrong they were when everything took off afterwards.

The tornado only did minor damage to Sooner Rose Elementary, because it happen to go through the large field just east of it (exactly where the Warren will now be). However, it did damage a LOT of homes in the neighborhood just north of there. Some were obliterated, but most of them sort of got lifted off the foundation some and slammed back down crooked. So from an overhead view, it didn't look like the Moore area near First Baptist/I-35, but the homes were still a total loss. The difference being people could go in and recover most of their stuff in MWC. My aunt and uncle lived on Char Lane (faces Reno Ave) and even there had roof damage on the back side of their house from the homes across the tracks behind them, sending debris into their roof. I did some clean up with my family there and it was a mess. Downed power lines, old growth trees everywhere, tarps on all the roofs. Thankfully it lifted the rest of the way before crossing the railroad tracks. Just a little more north and an extremely densely populated neighborhood (near Cleveland Bailey Elem) would have been right in the cross-hairs.