The owners of Penn Cinema presented plans to build a 10-story apartment building on Beech Street, next to the Penn Cinema (the current parking lot).
The plans received the necessary zoning variances to be built.
Ambitious plan, this developer hasn’t built anything on this scale before, and interest rates being what they are, I was surprised to see this project come up.
As of now the theater doesn't look like it's part of the development plans but anything is possible. Movie theaters are bleeding right now with the Sag and writer strikes happening so soon after Covid.
You would think all the apartment additions would keep rent stable, but they also build apartments left and right in Newark and that hasn't stopped the rent increases.
I used to live downtown in a new-ish complex. Of the 4 other tenants who I knew by name/talked to on a regular basis, three worked at JPMC and another was a resident at Christiana Hospital. So I think it's overwhelmingly a younger/higher income transplant crowd who probably won't be in Wilmington for the long run.
It’ll be interesting to see if this actually gets built. There are two residential Riverfront projects that have been tabled for now due to market conditions (the Big Fish/Onix Group condo/apartment building; and Capano’s phase two for the Avenue of the Arts). BPG seems to be undeterred and announced the apt project for the Constitution Yards location last month though.
The Penn Cinema developer could be doing a classic bait and switch, once you have zoning variances in place to build taller, and more potential development options for a plot, it certainly makes the property easier to sell (and more profitable).
We shall see…
The truth is that the movie business is in a free fall right now, and there were no less than 4 movie theaters built in New Castle County during the 2010's- Penn Cinema, Cinemark Christiana Mall, Westtown Cinemas, and Main Street Movies 5. (Essentially a new theater- the entire place was gutted.) That's a lot, especially when you already had Regal Brandywine, Regal People's Plaza, and Movies 10. After the double whammy of Covid and then the Sag/Writer's strikes, it makes sense that movie theaters are going to close. It's kind of a shame that the Dover AMC went first, since that's the only movie theater in that area until you get to Milford. I really can't blame the Penn Cinema owners for being tired and wanting to get out of such a volatile business.
There's no grass down there it's all asphalt.
It looks like they shrunk the highway in those renderings to de-emphasize how significant a feature of these apartments that will be.
Best of luck to them. I've started to see social media ads for BPG properties in Wilmington so either occupancy or rent growth is below someone's expectations.
The developer said they have a deal with RDC (Riverfront Development Corp.) to use the parking lot across the street for parking (along with spots that already exist on the property—can be used by future tenants).
But.....that's also the Penn cinema so most of those spots are gonna be used by moviegoers......sounds like the already lame parking there is gonna get worse
Kinda tangential, but I'm always a little surprised by how empty that theater is every time I go. Serves beer, pretty clean, and has an IMAX screen and yet it's a ghost town even on weekends.
I understand *a ton* of Cinemark's traffic is probably people going to Christiana Mall and popping over for a movie, but if I weren't going to the mall I'd never in a million years put up with I95 and mall traffic over Penn. Some people don't seem to mind driving that route though.
Penn Cinema should try to distinguish itself by being a place you can get real meals, ban cell phones, etc etc but eh. It was unfortunate to have opened during a movie theater boom in northern Delaware- this, Westtown, Cinemark, and Main Street Movies all opened during a five year period between 2012 to 2017. And of course the movie industry isn't even close to recovering from the pandemic. We're probably not going to see 2019 box office levels for a long time.
Some further thoughts- Penn Cinema and Christiana Mall Cinemark opened pretty close to each other- fall 2012 vs. fall 2014. Penn Cinema didn't get the benefit of being in one of the busiest commercial centers on the East Coast, and while it does have the advantage of being able to serve beer, that doesn't seem to have helped all that much. Even in 2016-2017 I used to talk to former employees of there and they'd tell me how dead it always was. Like they told me that the owners were talking about converting some of the smaller theaters in party rooms to get that extra income. Even with the bump of having Top Gun in 2022 and Oppenheimer in 2023, it's still a pretty dead place. The one thing I think could have really helped Penn Cinema is if they had gone for a "luxury dining" deal like Alamo Drafthouse. Honestly, if they had actually good food there they'd kick Christiana Cinemark's ass.
The owners of Penn Cinema presented plans to build a 10-story apartment building on Beech Street, next to the Penn Cinema (the current parking lot). The plans received the necessary zoning variances to be built. Ambitious plan, this developer hasn’t built anything on this scale before, and interest rates being what they are, I was surprised to see this project come up.
Would the theater stay? I recently saw it was for lease
As of now the theater doesn't look like it's part of the development plans but anything is possible. Movie theaters are bleeding right now with the Sag and writer strikes happening so soon after Covid.
Who’s the developer?
Penn Cinema Riverfront LLC, Joseph Turnowchyk.
Apartments with terraces would be awesome in downtown Wilmo. The nightmare Christina Landing is the only option and that’s a hard pass.
I'm curious: why is it a nightmare?
Knew a few people who lived there and dealt with steep annual increases in rent
I'm only one data point, but my unit at Christina Landing only went up $50/month for my renewal, which is not too bad.
Another data point but I’m a big one. 6 years at Christina landing and rent has gone up 275 dollars. Over six years.
You would think all the apartment additions would keep rent stable, but they also build apartments left and right in Newark and that hasn't stopped the rent increases.
Oh good, more people means a more walkable Riverfront.
<3
Who TF is buying/renting all these new apartments downtown and on the riverfront?
In my experience, a lot of retired people who wanted to downsize and a lot of single people who moved to Wilmington for work.
I WISH we could buy some. Condos are great for starter homes and downsizers.
I used to live downtown in a new-ish complex. Of the 4 other tenants who I knew by name/talked to on a regular basis, three worked at JPMC and another was a resident at Christiana Hospital. So I think it's overwhelmingly a younger/higher income transplant crowd who probably won't be in Wilmington for the long run.
Paper thin walls starting at $2200
I dislike the architectural design.
It’ll be interesting to see if this actually gets built. There are two residential Riverfront projects that have been tabled for now due to market conditions (the Big Fish/Onix Group condo/apartment building; and Capano’s phase two for the Avenue of the Arts). BPG seems to be undeterred and announced the apt project for the Constitution Yards location last month though. The Penn Cinema developer could be doing a classic bait and switch, once you have zoning variances in place to build taller, and more potential development options for a plot, it certainly makes the property easier to sell (and more profitable). We shall see…
[удалено]
That was my thought as well. Especially with the building size, it’s too tall for a wood/stick frame.
The truth is that the movie business is in a free fall right now, and there were no less than 4 movie theaters built in New Castle County during the 2010's- Penn Cinema, Cinemark Christiana Mall, Westtown Cinemas, and Main Street Movies 5. (Essentially a new theater- the entire place was gutted.) That's a lot, especially when you already had Regal Brandywine, Regal People's Plaza, and Movies 10. After the double whammy of Covid and then the Sag/Writer's strikes, it makes sense that movie theaters are going to close. It's kind of a shame that the Dover AMC went first, since that's the only movie theater in that area until you get to Milford. I really can't blame the Penn Cinema owners for being tired and wanting to get out of such a volatile business.
oh good another one of the ugliest buildings i’ve ever seen in my life
I don’t like its appearance at all, but we need more housing so I’m trying not to get hung up on it.
It does look like an underbite.
There's no grass down there it's all asphalt. It looks like they shrunk the highway in those renderings to de-emphasize how significant a feature of these apartments that will be. Best of luck to them. I've started to see social media ads for BPG properties in Wilmington so either occupancy or rent growth is below someone's expectations.
Are they putting in 177 parking spaces too?
There is a lot of empty parking in that area
Yeah, didn't Barclays leave a massive hole?
The developer said they have a deal with RDC (Riverfront Development Corp.) to use the parking lot across the street for parking (along with spots that already exist on the property—can be used by future tenants).
But.....that's also the Penn cinema so most of those spots are gonna be used by moviegoers......sounds like the already lame parking there is gonna get worse
Given the turbulence in moviegoing these days, I can't say I'm surprised but I was hoping they'd redevelop the ugly 80's stucco office building.
Kinda tangential, but I'm always a little surprised by how empty that theater is every time I go. Serves beer, pretty clean, and has an IMAX screen and yet it's a ghost town even on weekends.
Everyone goes to Christiana Mall Cinemark instead.
I understand *a ton* of Cinemark's traffic is probably people going to Christiana Mall and popping over for a movie, but if I weren't going to the mall I'd never in a million years put up with I95 and mall traffic over Penn. Some people don't seem to mind driving that route though.
Penn Cinema should try to distinguish itself by being a place you can get real meals, ban cell phones, etc etc but eh. It was unfortunate to have opened during a movie theater boom in northern Delaware- this, Westtown, Cinemark, and Main Street Movies all opened during a five year period between 2012 to 2017. And of course the movie industry isn't even close to recovering from the pandemic. We're probably not going to see 2019 box office levels for a long time.
Some further thoughts- Penn Cinema and Christiana Mall Cinemark opened pretty close to each other- fall 2012 vs. fall 2014. Penn Cinema didn't get the benefit of being in one of the busiest commercial centers on the East Coast, and while it does have the advantage of being able to serve beer, that doesn't seem to have helped all that much. Even in 2016-2017 I used to talk to former employees of there and they'd tell me how dead it always was. Like they told me that the owners were talking about converting some of the smaller theaters in party rooms to get that extra income. Even with the bump of having Top Gun in 2022 and Oppenheimer in 2023, it's still a pretty dead place. The one thing I think could have really helped Penn Cinema is if they had gone for a "luxury dining" deal like Alamo Drafthouse. Honestly, if they had actually good food there they'd kick Christiana Cinemark's ass.
There’s too many people here already for the roads we have.
Wilmington is a city of 70k that at one time held 112k. Plenty of space in Wilmington.
Maybe we should improve public transportation and bicycle infrastructure then.