Schenectady, N.Y., March 8, 2006 — Metroplex today provided an update on the downtown cinema and office complex to be constructed at the corner of State and Broadway in downtown Schenectady.
“All local approvals are in place, all agreements and contracts have been signed and we will move forward with construction in late March,” said Metroplex Chair Ray Gillen.
Film Journal, an industry publication that follows the cinema industry recently featured a profile on Charley and Ben Moss, owners of Bow Tie Partners, based in New York City, who will operate the new Schenectady cinema six-plex. The Galesi Group based in Rotterdam, is the project developer and will own the building that will house the six-screen cinema and two floors of class A office space. Galesi is the largest real estate developer in the Capital Region. The Galesi Group has contracted with BBL Construction, the region’s largest construction company to build the cinema/office complex.
Film Journal lauded Bow Tie Partners for their cinema in downtown New Haven, Connecticut which is expanding from five to seven screens based on the project’s initial success. The company also owns and operates cinemas in Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia.
The New Haven facility was praised by Film Journal and by cinema customers for no advertising before movies, real butter on popcorn, wide comfortable seats, state of the art sound systems, auditoria that resemble performance space and film product which features first run commercial, art and family oriented films. Each of these items has been built into the design for the Schenectady cinema complex to be called Movieland – A Bow Tie Partners Cinema. Bowtie operates cinemas under both the Criterion and Movieland brands.
Film Journal described the Schenectady project as the Moss’s plans for “a deluxe stadium six-plex just down the street from the legendary 1926 Proctors Theatre.”
Bow Tie Partners also announced that its General Manager, Troy native Joe Masher, will supervise the management of the Movieland Cinema in Schenectady. Masher has extensive experience in operating cinemas including Bow Tie properties in Colorado and Connecticut. Earlier in his career, he managed several cinema operations in the Capital Region and knows the local market very well.
The Movieland complex will be located in the heart of Schenectady’s entertainment district adjacent to Proctors and down the street from a new Hampton Inn Hotel. Free parking will be available directly across the street from the cinema in an 1,100 car parking garage owned by Metroplex. There are also hundreds of parking spaces at nearby surface lots also owned by Metroplex. Movieland will have a capacity of more than 1,400.
The new building at the corner of State and Broadway will also feature two floors of class A office space with a separate entrance on State Street. Approximately 34,000 square feet of office space will be built above the cinema complex.
For more information, see www.schenectadymetroplex.org, www.bowtiepartners.com and www.galesi.com.