West Rome movie theater for sale
Rome Cinemas on Alabama Highway has been put on the market, but any sale will be contingent on the complex not being used for a movie theater going forward.
Local real estate agent Craig Mcdaniel has listed the complex for $1.5 million.
Mcdaniel said he has been working with Dr. Gary Smith and his family — owners of the property as well as the Movies at Mount Berry Square — for over a year. But when the pandemic set in, everything got put on hold.
Prior to 1984, the property was home to A.H. Horn Land Surveyors.
The Litchfield Theatres chain built the original movie house, before it was acquired by United Artists. UA sold it to Stembler Brothers and then Smith purchased the complex in 2002.
The decision to sell the property came directly from changes in the movie theater industry.
The industry as a whole has undergone drastic changes since the pandemic. The lack of movies coming out of Hollywood, alongside many movies going directly to television subscription services, prompted the family to move forward with the decision to sell.
The complex has six screens but will not be available for continued use as a movie theater. Mcdaniel said the family does not want any additional competition for the Movies at Mount Berry.
None of the fixtures will go with the sale, although Mcdaniel said the family has expressed a willingness to sell off some of the seating.
The location is an ideal spot for any number of commercial purposes, even potential residential development, he said. The property includes about 8 acres with access to the highway.
The property is currently zoned for community commercial development, which opens it to a wide variety of potential uses in the future.
“I’ve already had some calls on it,” Mcdaniel said. “I’ve got two agents who want to show it and one potential user who wants to look at it.”