Developer: theater still coming to downtown
IPic bankruptcy won’t deter Fort Lauderdale redevelopment plan
Despite the financial troubles of luxury theater chain iPic Entertainment, a cinema still will be built as part of a redevelopment plan in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a developer says.
The Boca Raton-based company had at least two theaters on the drawing boards in South Florida when it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors Monday.
The proposed Federal Highway theater in Fort Lauderdale, at 600 Federal Highway, would be adjacent to a 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use project with ground floor retail and restaurants, said Charles Ladd, president of developer Barron Real Estate.
He predicted it would be attractive to new residents of the burgeoning downtown area, as well as the growing surrounding neighborhoods.
“We’re moving forward with the approval of our project with iPic under the assumption that they will move forward to open a location when recapitalized, or be replaced by one of the other luxury chains that have pursued us,” Ladd said. “This is one of the few zones in South Florida that is under-screened, and has some of the best density and wealth in South Florida as well.”
The theater would have screens in eight auditoriums. Each would have a capacity for 40 to 60 moviegoers.
Currently, the closest movie theaters to downtown Fort Lauderdale are the AutoNation IMAX 3D Theater on Southwest Second Street, The Classic Gateway Theatre on Sunrise Boulevard and Savor Cinema on Southeast Sixth Street.
Besides the Fort Lauderdale project, another planned iPic location is at the massive Metropica mixed-use development in Sunrise. It was originally scheduled to open in 2017, but was delayed until 2020. A phone call to the office of Joseph Kavana, CEO of K Group, the project developer, was not returned Tuesday.
In March, iPic opened the doors of its latest new South Florida theater in Delray Beach.
Elsewhere in South Florida, iPic also operates theaters in Boca Raton and North Miami Beach. Nationwide, it operates 128 screens in 16 cities and nine states.
The company filed for Chapter 11 on Monday after announcing it had missed a $10 million interest payment that was due on July 1.
In an interview Monday, CEO Hamid Hashemi said iPic is continuing operations under current management and that all theaters are remaining open. He also said the company intends to proceed with plans to complete theaters now under development.
With the help of a Wall Street financial adviser, the company is actively seeking a buyer and other investors to infuse fresh capital into the business.