City officials kick off redevelopment at Flatbush’s Loew’s Kings Theatre

Brooklyn's largest indoor theater to get a $93.9M makeover

The exterior and interior of Loew's Kings Theatre
The exterior and interior of Loew's Kings Theatre

City officials kicked off the restoration and redevelopment of the Loew’s Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Loew’s King is the borough’s largest indoor theater, and it has stood vacant since 1977, according to a city press release. The $93.9 million project to restore the run-down property is projected to create more than 500 construction jobs and 50 permanent positions. Renovations are scheduled for completion in late 2014 — after that time, the theater is poised to hold between 200 to 250 performances annually.

The 3,200-seat theater was built in 1929 with its design influenced by Versailles palace and the Paris Opera. The redevelopment of the property will expand its square footage to 93,000 square feet from 68,000 to better enable it for use as a live performance venue, adding a backstage area that wasn’t part of the original design.

The city has granted a 55-year lease to the Kings Theatre Redevelopment Corporation — a consortium composed of ACE Theatrical, Goldman Sachs and the National Development Council — for redevelopment. The project received financing from the city, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group and United Fund Advisors.

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“Restoring the glory of the Loew’s Kings Theatre into a combination of the Beacon and the Apollo all rolled into one has long been a dream of mine and the Flatbush community — and now it is time for the theater’s triumphant ‘encore,'” Markowitz said in the release.

The building is located at 1027 Flatbush Avenue near Tilden Avenue. —Zachary Kussin