New cinema’s opening delayed again
The opening of Palmerston North’s Focal Point Cinema has been pushed back to next year.
Film buffs have been eagerly awaiting the offerings at Focal Point since Event Hospitality and Entertainment took over the Downtown Cinemas complex last August, closing Cinema Gold.
Cinema Gold showed mostly art-house and festival films.
The closure presented an opportunity for Focal Point owners Matt and Julie Bell, who plan to open a cinema on Cuba St. They had hoped to have it open by mid-year, but the opening has been pushed back twice.
It is now expected to open in the first part of 2018.
The amount of construction going on in the city had made it difficult to co-ordinate consultants and contractors, Matt Bell said.
The new cinema will be housed in the former Beds 4 U building and will require internal demolition and a full refit, including a new front, four boutique-size theatres, a commercial kitchen, a licensed cafe and a first-floor function room.
‘‘It’s going to be great once it’s done, but we’ve just got to be patient while [our contractors] get the work done.’’
Bell said he had been working closely with architect Theo de Klerk and structural engineer Steven Charles, from Charles Consulting.
‘‘We want to come up with the best approach and smartest way to do it before we really get stuck in.’’
Charles Consulting was modelling various options to find the best way to meet their structural and acoustic needs.
Some minor renovations had been done, but so far, it had been pulling off panels or opening up walls so engineers could look at what they were working with, Bell said.
When completed, the cinema will seat 160 people, with a 12-seat theatre also available.