Cinetopia, the home of the living-room theater, plans to build its largest movie complex ever at Westfield Vancouver mall.
The 24-screen complex is expected to open in November 2011, said Rudyard Coltman, owner of Cinetopia LLC, which owns and operates two Cinetopia developments. The company’s flagship eight-screen theater complex opened in Vancouver five years ago at 11700 S.E. Seventh St. A second, 12-screen Cinetopia is expected to open in the summer of 2011 as part of a shopping center called Progress Ridge in Beaverton, Ore.
Coltman expects to jointly finance the more than $10 million Westfield Vancouver mall project with The Westfield Group, an Australian company with a global portfolio of 119 shopping malls in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
“Cinetopia will enhance our existing offering of retail, dining and entertainment selections for our customers,” said Paige Allen, the mall’s general manager.
The Cinetopia development will take up the former Mervyn’s department store and additional space at the 940,230-square-foot mall, located west of Interstate 205 at state Highway 500.
“It will be the largest movie venue in the Pacific Northwest,” said Coltman, 42, who successfully lured movie buffs back to commercial cinemas during the home theater craze.
Cinetopia draws moviegoers with dinner, wine and a movie shown by high-definition projectors. Its living-room theaters beckon with leather seats and other luxury amenities.
Coltman said the mall theater complex would employ approximately 150 people and feature nine living room theaters and several auditoriums with 65-foot and 80-foot screens.
Cinetopia’s Seventh Street complex has three living room theaters. Its highest tickets run $18.50 for a living room theater seat and $14 for a theater seat. By contrast, Regal Entertainment charges around $10.50 for a movie ticket and about $8 for an afternoon matinee at its conventional multiplex theaters.
Coltman said plans for the mall project were prompted by the Vancouver Cinetopia’s strong movie sales, although he would not disclose figures.
“In a nutshell, over the last 52 weeks, sales were up 72 percent. We have done studies and predict strong growth in the Vancouver market. We also expect to pull customers from Portland,” he said.
He added that the Vancouver Cinetopia draws about half of its customers from Portland, according to the company’s tracking system.
