Orem dollar theater to close when Cinemark opens in 2008
By Grace Leong
Daily Herald, 6 September 2007, page C6
Summary:
Construction on a new Cinemark theater will begin at University Mall after the mall has applied for building permits and posted road improvement bonds. Jon Anderson of Commerce CRG said the mall is expanding because of demand for more state-of-the art theater seating and the “area's continued robust population and job growth”.
The University Mall Cinema will need to close within ninety days of the Fall 2008 opening of Cinemark's new multiplex. The 18,000-square-foot dollar theater will be then converted to retail use.
Brady Whittingham and Tyler Measom bought the University Mall Cinema business from Don Clifton on 1 September 2007, even though they knew that the lease would not be renewed in 2008.
"We need a location for our family-friendly independent film festival, which began in June this year. We rented space from Clifton for our first film fest in June at the University Mall Cinema, and had so much response we decided to make this an annual event here," Whittingham said.
The June 2007 festival attracted 5,000 people for 20 films. The next festival is scheduled for June 2008 and will expand to 40 films.
The dollar theater will be closed for renovations starting 9 September 2008. A grand opening for the renamed Festival Cinemas at the University Mall will be held 15 September 2008.