Drexel Theatres Group to Manage the Eight-Screen Cinema

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The cinema will be located on the second floor of a new building to be constructed on the east side of High Street, just north of East Ninth Avenue. The cinema will feature seven auditoriums with stadium seating, an innovative "black box" theater to be used for cinema, multimedia and live performances, and a high-energy bistro and bar. All auditoriums will feature wall-to-wall giant screens and the latest in projection and digital sound technology.

"This is going to be one of the most imaginative and exciting theaters in any university community in the country," said Campus Partners President Terry Foegler. "The cinema is a critical entertainment anchor that enlivens Gateway's blend of restaurants and clubs and provides day and night vitality to the project's mix of retail, offices and apartments. It's this mix of uses located on Columbus' 'Main Street' and adjacent to Ohio State's campus that will make Gateway exceptional and appealing.

"Working with Jeff and Kathy Frank of the Drexel Theatres gives us access to a distinctive brand of theater experience," Foegler said. "The Franks have extensive experience with independent, art and foreign films, they understand the Columbus market well and they have broad knowledge of the film industry. Their expertise will help us create the unique environment that we believe will make this theater and South Campus Gateway a destination for students, the neighborhood and the entire Columbus area."

The theater will feature the most advanced projection systems to enable presentations in multiple film and video formats, as well as multi-media performances. Film programming will include a rich variety of major independent, art and foreign films, as well as screenings of first-run commercial films. The theater also will devote space to programs featuring student and local media works.

"Drexel Theatres has made a commitment to raising the level of film presentation in Columbus,
and managing the Gateway cinema gives us the perfect opportunity to expand our mix of films and innovative programming," said Jeff Frank, principal with the Drexel Theatres Group. "We welcome this opportunity to develop unique partnerships with university departments and facilities, including the Wexner Center for the Arts, and with other institutions and arts organizations in Columbus."

Foegler said the decision to incorporate a multi-screen theater into the Gateway development was based in part on the research and advice of Jay M. Shapiro, president of JMS Advisory and a leading expert in exhibition industry consultation and theater real estate brokerage, and the recommendations of Bob Welanetz, the Gateway project's lead entertainment and retail merchandising advisor.

"Urban university communities offer an eclectic mix of audiences," Shapiro said. "The Gateway theater concept, which blends a more progressive film program with state-of-the-art performance space, fits this market perfectly."

"In the United States, the best examples of the most vibrant urban infill mixed-use developments have successfully cemented the interdependent relationship of cinema, dining and entertainment establishments as a key merchandising draw," Welanetz said. "The Gateway cinema's design, programming and operating strategy will have significant positive impact on the quality selection and the performance of the restaurant and entertainment venues offered in the project."

Jones Lang LaSalle is the Gateway project management advisor to Campus Partners, while Elkus/Manfredi Architects of Boston is the lead architect with overall design responsibility for South Campus Gateway. Elkus/Manfredi has retained Mesbur+Smith Architects of Toronto, one of the world's leading designers of entertainment facilities, to help design the dramatic and lively cinema space.

South Campus Gateway, scheduled to open in the fall of 2005, will be a mixed-use development with 250,000 square feet of retail involving 35 to 40 entertainment, restaurant, shopping and service venues; 90,000 square feet of office space; and about 190 apartments, serving some of Columbus' most vibrant and diverse urban neighborhoods. Parking will be provided in a 1,200-space parking garage. The total private and public investment in the Gateway project will be well in excess of $100 million.

Campus Partners, a non-profit urban redevelopment corporation, was established in 1995 by The Ohio State University and the City of Columbus to spearhead improvements to the quality of life in the University District. While Campus Partners has initiated a number of projects in the University District, Gateway is the signature project to revitalize High Street and the neighborhoods around the university.