The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 110

2-Pinellas The Tampa Tribune, Tuesday, October 10, 1989 i iilpm jtJ i-ih a Rand Theatre's opening backed to Thanksgiving man i eve i0pe town For InformaTToiT VAi 4 4 We just felt we'd fill a good void there. It's a great opportunity for us to have a profitable venture. Jeff Rand vice president Rand Theatres 4 I060 ro Outparcel Available By JEFF STIDHAM Tribune Staff Writer PALM HARBOR The $4 million Rand Theatre on U.S. Highway 19 south of Klosterman Road has a new opening date: Thanksgiving. Tenants of the building.

Rand Theatres of Little Rock, originally planned to open the theater by the end of sum-. mer but have delayed the opening for marketing reasons until Thanksgiving weekend, said Jeff Rand, vice president and director of real estate development One reason is money. The weeks leading up to Christmas are traditionally big moneymakers, Rand said. Also, the new date coincides with the opening of other Rand theaters in west central Florida, said Rand, during a telephone interview from Dallas last week. The Palm Harbor theater, which will house eight screens, provides a good location for movie goers because few theaters dot the landscape in northern Pinellas County, Rand said.

"We just felt we'd fill a good void there," he said. "It's a great opportunity for us to have a profitable venture." Theater chains consider demographics and the number of screens serving a location before they rent space, said Wayne Clark, director of advertising for AMC Theatres in Clearwater. Multiscreen buildings are the norm today because the single-screen theaters of the past no longer are economical, he said. "With a one-screen theater, if you end up with a picture that bombs, you're stuck with it for eight weeks. You can't survive that way." But a multi-screen theater offers the chance that a blockbuster film could run for months with its success spilling over to neighboring Tribune photograph by FRED FOX The Rand Theater on U.S.

Highway 19 is expected to open on Thanksgiving Day. Some theaters now show 'older9 films for a dollar films a wall away, Clark said. The Rand family believes the eight-screen theater in Palm Harbor will open to successes for more reasons than the number of screens. Special sound systems and paneled walls should make for the best acoustics possible, and large, rock-ing-back chairs should provide comfort for the movie patron, Jeff Rand said; But the Thanksgiving date is questionable. Today only the shell of the tan theater building with its green entrance way is complete, said Joseph Gray, senior vice president of Cen-trePointe Investments Inc.

of Tampa, developer of the project. Inside, the building is empty and construction to finish it off, which could take three months, has yet to begin, Gray said. Originally the building was part of the Klosterman development at the intersection of U.S. 19 and Klosterman Road, but because of the wetlands between the properties, CentrePointe sold its interest in Klosterman Commons. The company kept the theater, Gray said.

Although Rand will be the building's first tenant, CentrePointe first contracted with another chain, Cine-plex Odeon Theatres. That contract fell through, Gray said. In addition to the theater, CentrePointe plans to build a family restaurant on the property, Gray said. movies one night a week at cheaper prices. Some years ago, AMC Theatres experimented with 99-cent Mondays in an effort to draw back customers who avoided movies because of the rising cost of tickets.

"It just didn't work," said Wayne Clark, director of advertising for AMC Theatres In Clearwater. But today AMC offers twilight showings at reduced rates every day, and movie buffs know when the rates are down. A common notion today is that theater owners make money not on films but on concession sales. Witness the newer theaters large concession areas with more workers to service patrons. But ticket sales do count, Clark insists.

"The popcorn isn't going to pay all the bills," he said. By JEFF STIDHAM Tribune Staff Writer PALM HARBOR The days of the big dark theater shared only with one giant screen are almost history. It's no longer economical to risk booking a film that bombs into a theater that would then be empty for weeks, theater owners say. So today moviegoers are treated to theaters divided into sections from two screens to 18 in larger cities that give film buffs the chance to find the movies they want and the theater owner the hope of latching on to a box office bonanza. But while theater chains pray they'll book a blockbuster, they're also trying other tactics to lure movie goers out of their homes.

Some theaters show second-run films for $1. AMC Theatres owns the Seminole 2 that shows films for $1. The same goes for the Cine-plex Odeon's Countryside 4, which started the dollar movie schedule in January. Most urban communities now have $1 movie houses that show "older" films sometimes they've been around six months, said a theater general manager who asked not to be identified. The films shown there are generally not blockbusters, but neither are they bombs, and the price attracts crowds, the manager said.

"You have to establish the thing real well. We still get people here who don't realize and are astounded at the price," the manager said. Most $l-a-film theaters are older and have fewer screens than the deluxe houses that show first run films, he said. Theater chains have gambled on showing Officials: Scientology connection won't hamper downtown project City Manager Ron Rabun said the contract between the city and City Center Development Corp. forbids taking the building off the tax rolls.

So, it could not join the ranks of other Scientologist-owned buildings throughout Clearwater that are not contributing to taxes. "It doesn't affect the project It's just a disappointing revelation," Commissioner Lee Regulski said. "We were looking for new people, new blood with a commitment for downtown. Some of (the commitment) may still be there, but it's not good to hear." The other three commissioners said that a Scientology interest in the development will not affect the extra tax revenue coming to the city or the additional people who will be living downtown. Mayor Rita Garvey said the mere fact that new buildings are going up in downtown will bolster downtown.

"Religion is one thing and business is another," said Commissioner Bill Nunamaker. "As long as he's By PAULITA KINCER Tribune Staff Writer CLEARWATER One of three partners who struck a deal with the city to build 50 condominiums in downtown is a member of the Church of Scientology. The majority of city commissioners say the man's religious beliefs won't affect the project meant to spur life into stagnant downtown. But two commissioners say they're disappointed and disillusioned to learn that $290,000 of city money is subsidizing a project that may have ties to the Church of Scientology. "We're subsidizing the project and now it comes to light that we're possibly subsidizing the project for Scientology purposes," said Commissioner Dick Fitzgerald.

But John Gallant, one of the three partners in City Center Development said that although his partner, Jochen Knewitz is a Scientologist, the condominiums are not being built solely for Scientologists. "Our primary targets are not Scientologists," Gallant said Mon day. But they are a part of downtown and some of them may buy condominiums, he said. "We were friends and we became business partners," he said. "He doesn't bother me because I go to a Roman Catholic church and I don't bother him because of what he believes." Knewitz could not be reached for comment.

The city's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) agreed to sell 1.67 acres of land known as the Bilgore Property to City Center Development Corp. for $400,000, which is $290,000 less than the city paid for it in 1986. The CRA members, who are also the city commissioners, said they would recoup the $290,000 in about 62 years through higher tax revenue because of the project The property is located at the northwest corner of Pierce Street and Myrtle Avenue. The project calls for 50 one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums to be built at a starting price of $85,000 each. Vs" I.

1 -t A. .1 not involved in anything illegal." Owner anticipates no problem doing business in Pinellas From Page 1 sell are not indecent and are surprised by the legal threats in Manatee County. "There is nothing that's pornography here," said Busques. "I don't think I'm doing nothing wrong In here. It's a job like anything else." But Manatee sheriff's officers say the items sold last week are not decent and the store violated an ordinance selling them.

A 1984 Manatee County ordinance requires a store to be licensed if more than 10 percent of Its Inventory is made up of sex-related products. Even so, acquiring a license is not what worries Wheat "I'm afraid too many stipulations will be made to prevent me from doing business as I usually do," she said. Wheat does not anticipate similar problems in Pinellas. She has not heard complaints or been visited by sheriffs officers, she said. A Pinellas Sheriff's spokesman said he was not aware of complaints against the stores.

"They're Just a little more sophisticated (in Pinellas and Tampa) than in Manatee County," Wheat said. "They laugh a lot I mean a lot Because it is funny, in a way," she said. But store managers take the toy store "warning" seriously. They check the age of anyone who looks young, Busques said. "Even if they're married they have to be over 21.

Sometimes they show me their rings. I don't care. Not even babies with their mothers can go in there," Busques said. Both women say the items they "ti i 'Tr- 4f i In thA CUinn Trlhun nhnlnnranh hv EILt In the swing Tribune photograph by EILEEN CONNORS I Announcements The Tribune prints engagement and wedding announcements free of charge. We also will print notices of 25th, 50th and 75th wedding anniversaries.

Forms are available at the Largo office, 7499 Ulmerton Road, 34641, and at the Clearwater office, 604 Court St, 34616. To obtain a form by mail, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. If you want your announcement to be run in any of the Tribune's other regional editions besides Pinellas, please note that request on your completed form. Call 530-0660 or 441-2818. ILLICET AFFAIRS PLUS DEBBIE DOES DALLAS PT 3 5 ball made of tape and noted they needed to make a new ball after "about every home run." Bill James, 19, takes a swing during a recent game of stickball at a friend's house In Land 0' Lakes.

The boys were using a ALSO VI0E0 RENTAL COUPLES ino SALES ft PRIVATE BOOTHS Laurel Park purchase meets mounting obstacles REPAIR SERVICE" for Fine Watches CRISEKKSIAUitANf From Page 1 CARTIER PATEK ROLEX TAMPA'S FINE CHINESE CUISINE DroceWattirs budge, the standoff could spell the end of a deal that would have allowed the authority to replace an aged, low-income complex. White has said the complex cannot be repaired to federal standards. If the sale were salvaged, White said he would replace Laurel Park with more modern and scattered housing. The city wants the property to meet parking needs at the Florida Suncoast Dome, should a Major League Baseball team come to St. Petersburg.

Although HUD officials In Atlan-ta and Washington D.C. have confirmed the decision approving the sale, the Housing Authority is still awaiting official word. White said Friday he hopes the delay suggests HUD is rethinking its decision. SUNDAY BRUNCH Comptwa Nw Tort Styd Chirm Mnu SzKhuan Oittv Avaiiatxa Mon. thru Fri.

LUNCH BUFFET A Maior CrM CarM Accaptad OiH Food CartificatM Avaiiab CocMailt Smvad 2807 BUSCH BL VD. 935-7651 OPEN MON THUHS 1100-1000 CM. FRI 1100-1100 St. Patartbura 224 Bench Dr.N.E. that the authority would be "anxious to enter Into negotiations to resurrect" the agreement or to negotiate a new contract Further, Allan wrote that any revived deal could require changes to address any problems caused by HUD's conditions.

If neither HUD nor the authority in. BallaairBlufft 2919 W. Bay Or 584-3434 aun. PM..