Grosse Pointe Receives 2 Theater Proposals

The has received two proposals for theaters for the parking lot on St. Clair Street between and , City Manager Pete Dame announced Tuesday in a press release.

The City planning and development employees have begun reviewing the proposals, both of which are available on the City's website along with the renderings.

Emagine Entertainment has proposed a 35,000 square-foot building that would house eight screens for first-run movies. This company has six locations throughout Michigan, five of which are in the metro Detroit area.

has proposed a 40,000 square-foot cultural arts center with a 400-seat theater for live productions and a banquet area. The theatre company is currently housed on Fisher Road and performs many of its productions at the .

Dame's press release provides a rough timeline of how the proposals will be handled:

• the theatre proposals and other development will be part of the discussion at next week's first public hearing on the upcoming revision of the City's master plan
• city planning employees will analyze the proposals and prepare a written report to the council
• council will host a public meeting to gather feedback and thoughts from the public after the city employees have the reports complete

A specific date has not yet been set but an estimated timeframe is June for the completion of the report and public hearing, according to Dame's release.

Should either of the proposals come to fruition, the development would happen essentially across the street from the future home of the Neighborhood Club. The final beam for the frame of the Neighborhood Club's new building was installed last week and construction is projected to be finished by January, but is weather dependent.

It would be the third large-scale project in the Village in a matter of a few years including the Neighborhood Club, which is zoned as part of the Village, and Kroger. 

As plans are introduced in Grosse Pointe for theaters, the Shores Theater remains vacant. The building has been vacant since 2007, and is currently for sale. , but there are no official projects currently planned for the building.