Comeback Story

Published in FirstMonday magazine, By Sarah Sekula

Through ups and downs, criticisms and challenges, The Plaza is persevering in the toughest of times. A $12 million movie theater and new ownership might have something to do with that success.

It has all the makings of a Hollywood movie script: a gregarious leading character who falls from his heroic platform, plenty of behind-the-scenes drama and what looks to be a happy ending. The story of The Plaza, a three-towered building project with strife and triumph, goes something like this:

EXTERIOR ORANGE AVENUE – 8 P.M.

The streets are dark. Floodlights are on. Bulldozers raze the Jaymont block. A heavy silence falls. The once-empty storefronts now amount to a crumbling heap of concrete and rebar. CAMERON KUHN, the “developer” in the plot, celebrates with fists in the air. He stands where his epic towers will rise.

From that day forward, after wrecking crews demolished the so-called Jaymont block, which included McCrory’s five-and-dime store, Woolworth’s and the Terror on Church Street attraction, upward growth of the mixed-use complex has been a roller coaster ride.

Since 2003, when plans for the $140 million project — known as the largest redevelopment in downtown Orlando history — were first announced, the hype was at an all-time high. Headlines read “Citizen Kuhn” and “Lords of Downtown.” A distinct enthusiasm filled the air. Over the next six years, however, it faded as setbacks abounded.

Today, however, amidst a recession and real estate bust, it’s a project striving to become the heartbeat of downtown. With last month’s opening of The Plaza Cinema Café, a 12-screen upscale theater, this may be a comeback story, after all.

Silver Screen Dreams

VOLCANO’S COFFEE BAR – 4:30 P.M.

Enter Jim Duffy, the “movie theater mogul.” He sports a gray handlebar mustache (not of Wyatt Earp length but William Taft style) and quiet demeanor. Soothing music fills the café, a striking contrast to the construction inside the movie theater on The Plaza’s second floor.

Over the years, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Amstar Entertainment LLC passed on the opportunity to open a theater in The Plaza. Not Jim Duffy, CEO of American Theater Corp. He saw a “uniquely designed building ripe for the picking.” After meeting Stuart Rubin, CEO of Beverly Hills–based RP Realty, who owns 605,000 square feet of The Plaza, Duffy decided to purchase the 60,000-square-foot theater space.

With nine projects in the works across the nation, why did Duffy choose to gamble on Orlando? Simple, he says. Ever since he opened his first theater in 1974 on Turkey Lake Road, he knew he wanted “to come back to Orlando and do something very big.” Not to mention that it was the first dinner theater concept in the Southeast and was wildly successful. Since then, he has opened more than 125 theaters.

The 61-year-old smiles as he recalls the simple spark that started it all. At 26, when he stumbled into the cinema business, he “just wanted to bring together drinking a beer and watching a movie in a casual-type setting. Then it evolved with a menu and food.”

Today, his dinner-and-a-movie concept has morphed into upscale movie mansions from Chicago to Palm Springs. “The Plaza Cinema Café,” he boasts, “rivals some of the best theaters in L.A.”

Case in point: It offers 12 screens, four of which measure 25 by 45 feet, and all of which are equipped with 35mm and 3-D digital projection systems (which are apparently all the rage). As visitors take the escalator up to the second floor, they have their pick of two wine bars facing Orange Avenue and six theaters to the right and six to the left.

Then there’s the food. Even the popcorn is different because you can enjoy it with a specialty martini or imported beer. The traditional items — pretzels, popcorn and candy — are all there. However, the cheese trays, shrimp cocktails, caviar, salads and chocolate fondue steal the show.

If your margarita pizza isn’t ready in time for the previews, a runner will deliver it to your seat, which, by the way, is an oversized leather rocker with a 10-inch custom table attached.

Long Time Coming

The fanfare surrounding the theaters is palpable. However, to get to this point, The Plaza had its growing pains.

In 2004, Kuhn began construction of the project, and the city of Orlando approved a $3.5 million grant to attract a theater to the downtown project. By 2007, plans for the long-awaited theater were scrapped once the real estate market began to go downhill, and the grant was never dispersed.

By October 2007, The Plaza was complete but not functioning. The theater sign still read: “Coming Soon.” The residential condos, meanwhile, were struggling, and Kuhn was overwhelmed with lawsuits. Even his original naming-rights partner, Premiere Trade LLC, jumped ship.

The pace picked up again when Urban Flats opened its door in 200x. Other ground-floor tenants moved in to further accelerate things: Corona Cigar, Black Olive, Forty VII Clothing, Volcano’s Coffee Bar, Bento, NY PD Pizza and ScottTrade.

Later this year, Plaza Underground, an expansion of NYPD Pizza, and Mochi, an Asian-inspired yogurt shop, are slated to open. Notable office tenants include Stirling Sotheby’s Global Gallery, Solar Blue and Baker Barrios Architects.

Economic Impact

VOLCANO’S COFFEE BAR – 5 P.M.

DUFFY has a plane to catch. He does not seem rushed, however. As the tornadolike winds and torrential rains clear up, he calls it a beautiful day in Orlando. KIM ELLIS, the “marketer,” rushes around the café talking a mile a minute.

Duffy has no doubts the theater will be a rousing success and says estimates call for attendance of more than 1,000 patrons a day.

“Based on this same business model in comparable markets,” says Kim Ellis, RP Realty’s director of leasing, “American Theater Corp. estimates The Plaza Cinema Café will bring an additional 600,000 people on an annual basis to downtown Orlando. Using an extremely conservative estimate of $20 per patron in spending related to their theater visit [beyond ticket price], the economic impact would be $12 million annually.”

There is also an aggressive plan to repay debt. “A tax lien has been placed on the properties in a first position ahead of the mortgages to protect the city’s investment,” says Ellis. “It is a loan from the city of $6 million to be paid off over the next 15 years. The $3.5 million grant will offset the $6 million at $350,000 a year, leaving a balance of $2.5 million to be paid off over 15 years.”

Starting with the construction phase of the theater, which created about 200 jobs in first-quarter 2009, The Plaza representatives say they paid special attention to their spending of the $6 million construction budget. “We have focused on contracting with local- and minority-owned vendors, craftsmen, manufacturers and artists,” says Ellis.

Plus, she says, the theater will likely create about 50 to 60 full- and part-time positions, ranging from minimum wage jobs to salaried management and marketing positions.

Notably, experts say, movie attendance rarely sees a decline during a downturn in the economy. In fact, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners in Washington, DC, box office sales increased during five of seven recessions since 1965. With the July release of the latest Harry Potter flick and “Ice Age 3,” both $100 million films, box office sales will likely stay on par or surpass last summer’s sales.

“In a depressed economy, people look for affordable entertainment options,” says Ellis. “The whole goal was to make it an upscale experience. But we want the movies to remain an attractive and affordable entertainment alternative.” Likewise, ticket prices have been set at $7.50 for evening films and $4.50 for matinees. Parking at The Plaza garage is $2 for movie patrons.

Frank Billingsley, the city’s director of the economic development department, adds that the new patrons will bring additional foot traffic to surrounding businesses and expand the cultural corridor.

Furthermore, The Plaza could have an impact on other cities, maybe not in dollars but in a message: Struggling projects, regardless of their histories, can in fact come to fruition.

Community Impact

CITYARTS FACTORY – 6 P.M.

SHANON LARIMER, the “arts champion,” is instantly engaging. He chats with a local artist as a draft comes in through the opened door. His animated eyebrows are sure signs of genuine excitement. He is, after all, a movie buff at heart. As he checks his iPhone for Ning updates, a female quartet sings down the hall. (Note: Ning is a Web-based social/professional networking platform.)

“This theater will do a lot for downtown,” says Shanon Larimer, executive director of the Downtown Arts District. By the same token, The Plaza is uniquely positioned to bring the community together, particularly the arts crowd. For instance, Larimer spearheaded an effort to partner with the theater and inked a three-year contract with officials to house two rooms of rotating art, featuring local artists each month.

And while 10 screens will show mainstream flicks, two of the smaller screening rooms will be dedicated to independent and art films, plus second-run and classic films. There’s a plan to offer art classics to the public every third Thursday at a discounted price.

The Orlando Film Festival stands to benefit, too. In the past, the festival’s primary theater venue was CityArts Factory, a complex of art galleries and studio space on Orange Avenue. “We would spend thousands of dollars to convert the

into a theater,” says Brett Jaffee, producer of the festival. “It seats about 225, and we would often sell out. 

“The addition of the new theaters [at The Plaza] means the Orlando Film Festival can explode this year.”

Last year, the festival showed some 50 films, but with four screens at The Plaza, it will now show 150. And money formerly spent on converting theater space can be allocated to growing the festival and bringing in more celebrities, directors or film buyers.

Tenants of the project, like Evan Huang, director of concept development for The Black Olive restaurant, are equally enthusiastic. “The Plaza has succeeded in anchoring businesses that attract a more sophisticated and professional audience,” Huang says. “It fits both the profile of the people who work and live downtown as well as Orlando’s forward-thinking downtown development goals.

“The movie theater will bring more traffic to the Plaza and downtown, so it should definitely have a positive impact on our business.”

As another way of bringing the community together, The Plaza plans on simulcasting live events, such as the Super Bowl, the Oscars and the World Series, free of charge. It’s a step back into a time when the local movie house was a focal point of the community, where everyone gathered for entertainment and to follow current events.

Box Office Legs

In the end, The Plaza promises to transform the scene of downtown Orlando in a way that nearby Church Street hasn’t come close to, at least not yet. For years, there were just bars, restaurants (which weren’t open on weekends) and vacant storefronts. Not much was pumping the heartbeat of downtown’s nightlife. Now, with the addition of a movie theater, will the beat have a different rhythm?

In 2003, when Kuhn promised a project that would “change the city,” he was telling the truth. It’s certainly a striking part of the city skyline. And it’s hard to imagine that, after coming all this way, the complex won’t thrive. Orlando is rooting for a good comeback story.

EXTERIOR ORANGE AVENUE – 9 P.M.

An idyllic Saturday night with plenty of energy and verve. A steady hum of activity fills the streets. There it stands. Almost majestic with its crown-topped architecture. The Plaza. A massive structure now perhaps poised for success.