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Remember the Alamo Drafthouse project at the Bloc? It’s finally happening
An opening was first planned in 2015, but delays with a renovation at the DTLA site held it up
A long-awaited Alamo Drafthouse outpost at the Bloc in Downtown Los Angeles will open in July.
The 12-screen theater was first announced in 2014 with a projected opening the next year.
Now after five years and numerous delays with the Ratkovich Company’s renovation of the 1.8-million-square-foot complex, a soft opening is planned for early next month, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It will be the dinner-and-a-movie chain’s first theater in L.A. The highly successful chain was founded in 1997 and is best known as a pioneer of the full-service theater experience. It was one of the first theaters to serve alcohol. It’s themed nights and art house showings are especially popular. There are now 38 Alamo Drafthouse theaters nationwide.
Things have been smoother for Alamo in New York — one Alamo theater in Brooklyn is set to double in size next year and another is on the way in the Financial District. The lease deal for the latter recently earned Newmark Knight Frank a REBNY award.
Ratkovich completed its renovation in mid-2017, 18 months over schedule and $70 million over budget, according to the Times. A Real Deal investigation around that time found that many tenants first announced at the Bloc hadn’t actually signed leases. By then, Alamo Drafthouse had signed a lease and projected a 2018 opening.
Ratkovich sold its stake in the development to its equity partner, National Real Estate Advisors, early last year.
Alamo joins fast fashion retailer Uniqlo, Macy’s, and L.A. Fitness, among other tenants, at the Bloc. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch