Plans to turn Brooklyn’s biggest movie theater — the once-majestic Loews Kings in Flatbush — into “the next Apollo” should become reality by 2014, officials say.
Borough President Marty Markowitz is expected to announce during his State of the Borough address tonight that architects and contractors have finally begun site-preparation work on the city’s $70 million plan to restore the 82-year-old historic jewel to its former glory. The theater, which seats 3,195, closed its doors in 1978.
Construction is set to begin next year.
Markowitz â€" who has led a community effort to restore the theater â€" says in prepared remarks that when complete, the site will be “a state-of-the-art, 21st century performance venue” and “the pride of Flatbush and all of Brooklyn.”
Part of the Loews Kings' legacy is its A-list of former employees — among them Barbra Streisand and Sylvester Stallone, who worked as ushers.
It’s also where Markowitz attended high-school graduation and took his first date.
After decades of failed attempts to rejuvenate the site, the city last year tapped Houston-based ACE Theatrical Group to restore the historic theater to its original French-Renaissance-style, so that ACE could present up to 250 concerts, theatrical performances and community events annually.
For some reason that top link I just posted might not work. Here’s the body of the info:
Update on Loew’s Kings Theatre
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
It’s been about a year since the city announced firm plans to restore the Loew’s Kings Theatre on Flatbush Avenue near Beverley Road. With three years left to make the proposed 2014 opening, let’s see how the project is progressing.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, in coordination with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) late last month. The draft EIS is an extensive survey of the project and its potential impact on the neighborhood. Major points include:
A portion of the block of East 22nd Street between Tilden Avenue and Duryea Place would be demapped and closed to traffic permanently to accommodate an expansion of the theater’s stagehouse, back-of-house support areas, and loading areas into the street to support live theater events.
As part of the expansion and modernization, the total square footage will increase from 66,230 square feet to approximately 101,970 square feet. The renovated theater would maintain a similar seating capacity as the existing theater by providing up to approximately 3,600 seats. It will be the largest indoor theater in Brooklyn.
The developer and operator, ACE Theatrical Group of Houston, TX, will host up to approximately 200 performances a year, including music, dance, cabaret, and comedy performances, catering heavily to local interests.
The building will be nominated to the State and National Registers of Historic Places and is seeking federal historic tax credits, thereby ensuring that the proposed repair and alterations are in compliance with various state and federal historic rehabilitation guidelines.
Traffic will be impacted before and after performances, but this isn’t the Atlantic Yardsâ€"the proposed project is expected to generate approximately 922 vehicle trips in the Saturday midday and evening arrival peak hours, and 1,092 vehicle trips in the Saturday midday departure peak hour. They are not adding a parking facility, but there are two within a block of the site that would be used for event parking. One is the Sears parking lot, and the other is the rooftop lot located above the Stop & Shop/Old Navy complex.
They anticipate as many as 292 subway passenger trips would be assigned to at least one subway line (Q/B at Beverly or Church or the 2/5 at Beverley), but they figure there is no potential for impact at this level of passengers on a Saturday, so no quantitative subway analysis was performed.
There is a public hearing tonight at 6:30pm at the Flatbush Public Library to address comments on the draft EIS. After receiving comments, they will finalize the EIS.
The NYCEDC tells us that they expect the design process to begin in February, and so far, everything is proceeding as planned for a 2014 opening.
LIVE FROM THE KENT:
View link
from today;s NY POST:
LONG LIVE KINGS OF FLATBUSH
Plans to turn Brooklyn’s biggest movie theater — the once-majestic Loews Kings in Flatbush — into “the next Apollo” should become reality by 2014, officials say.
Borough President Marty Markowitz is expected to announce during his State of the Borough address tonight that architects and contractors have finally begun site-preparation work on the city’s $70 million plan to restore the 82-year-old historic jewel to its former glory. The theater, which seats 3,195, closed its doors in 1978.
Construction is set to begin next year.
Markowitz â€" who has led a community effort to restore the theater â€" says in prepared remarks that when complete, the site will be “a state-of-the-art, 21st century performance venue” and “the pride of Flatbush and all of Brooklyn.”
Part of the Loews Kings' legacy is its A-list of former employees — among them Barbra Streisand and Sylvester Stallone, who worked as ushers.
It’s also where Markowitz attended high-school graduation and took his first date.
After decades of failed attempts to rejuvenate the site, the city last year tapped Houston-based ACE Theatrical Group to restore the historic theater to its original French-Renaissance-style, so that ACE could present up to 250 concerts, theatrical performances and community events annually.
For some reason that top link I just posted might not work. Here’s the body of the info:
Update on Loew’s Kings Theatre
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
It’s been about a year since the city announced firm plans to restore the Loew’s Kings Theatre on Flatbush Avenue near Beverley Road. With three years left to make the proposed 2014 opening, let’s see how the project is progressing.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, in coordination with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) late last month. The draft EIS is an extensive survey of the project and its potential impact on the neighborhood. Major points include:
A portion of the block of East 22nd Street between Tilden Avenue and Duryea Place would be demapped and closed to traffic permanently to accommodate an expansion of the theater’s stagehouse, back-of-house support areas, and loading areas into the street to support live theater events.
As part of the expansion and modernization, the total square footage will increase from 66,230 square feet to approximately 101,970 square feet. The renovated theater would maintain a similar seating capacity as the existing theater by providing up to approximately 3,600 seats. It will be the largest indoor theater in Brooklyn.
The developer and operator, ACE Theatrical Group of Houston, TX, will host up to approximately 200 performances a year, including music, dance, cabaret, and comedy performances, catering heavily to local interests.
The building will be nominated to the State and National Registers of Historic Places and is seeking federal historic tax credits, thereby ensuring that the proposed repair and alterations are in compliance with various state and federal historic rehabilitation guidelines.
Traffic will be impacted before and after performances, but this isn’t the Atlantic Yardsâ€"the proposed project is expected to generate approximately 922 vehicle trips in the Saturday midday and evening arrival peak hours, and 1,092 vehicle trips in the Saturday midday departure peak hour. They are not adding a parking facility, but there are two within a block of the site that would be used for event parking. One is the Sears parking lot, and the other is the rooftop lot located above the Stop & Shop/Old Navy complex.
They anticipate as many as 292 subway passenger trips would be assigned to at least one subway line (Q/B at Beverly or Church or the 2/5 at Beverley), but they figure there is no potential for impact at this level of passengers on a Saturday, so no quantitative subway analysis was performed.
There is a public hearing tonight at 6:30pm at the Flatbush Public Library to address comments on the draft EIS. After receiving comments, they will finalize the EIS.
The NYCEDC tells us that they expect the design process to begin in February, and so far, everything is proceeding as planned for a 2014 opening.
Update on Loews Kings:
View link
View link