Theater owner sees potential in city
The owner of a theater chain that is expanding into Pine Bluff said it was the city’s efforts to revitalize itself that sold him on coming to town.
Felix Waller, owner of Apex Cinemas, spoke by phone with the Pine Bluff Commercial last week about his growing interest in Pine Bluff.
“When I began to look for new opportunities and came across the opportunity in Pine Bluff that there really was no legitimate theater or family entertainment option for the community, I began to build relationships. I had a meeting with the mayor, and that’s where I met Mr. Watley and some of the city leaders,” he said, referring to Mayor Shirley Washington and Ryan Watley, head of Go Forward Pine Bluff.
Waller said he became excited when they started talking about the revitalization plans in Pine Bluff, the work that they had already begun, and projects that were in the works.
“That’s when my heart began to be swung by Pine Bluff,” said Waller. “To this day, I have yet to see a community that has come together to put such a wide and strategic plan together to take back their city and to make it something special like Pine Bluff has.”
At a recent Urban Renewal Agency meeting, it was announced that the old Walmart building, located at the south end of The Pines mall, was going on the auction block and that the party that had seemed most interested — Waller — wanted the agency to buy the building and lease it back to him. When Waller went ahead and arranged to buy the building, news traveled fast around town that Apex Cinema, a chain of theaters operating in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, was coming to town. Agency officials said at the meeting that Waller was looking at making an investment of some $8 million in the project, which included a multiplex cinema and other entertainment.
Waller said that, because Pine Bluff is the regional hub of southeast Arkansas, the theater would be able to provide a reason and op
portunity for people to travel to the area.
“I think it will help restaurants, gas stations and the retail market there,” said Waller. “By us coming there, I think it will be a domino effect to get other businesses to come in that vicinity, which would also be good for the population and community of Pine Bluff.”
After frequent trips back and forth to Pine Bluff, conference calls and meetings, Waller was sold on the idea and ready to make an investment in Pine Bluff. Many were excited about Waller’s newfound love of Pine Bluff, but he said some people tried to discourage him.
“I always told them: ‘You guys haven’t been to Pine Bluff. You haven’t met the people in Pine Bluff; you haven’t met the leaders in Pine Bluff,’” said Waller, who added that he has been the underdog most of his life.
The 90,000-square-foot building will give Waller many possibilities to bring family entertainment to Pine Bluff, which he feels will be beneficial to residents and visitors.
“I think from a business standpoint, to my knowledge there is not a town close to 50,000 people that doesn’t offer their community family entertainment,” said Waller. “There’s a huge gap in Pine Bluff for that.”
Waller said he did consider other locations, such as downtown Pine Bluff, but ran into accommodation barriers that wouldn’t benefit all patrons, in his opinion.
“I’m proud of what they are doing downtown with the revitalization, but I felt like there were some challenges for us space-wise,” he said. “There were going to be some limitations to what we could do.”
The Walmart location gives Waller more flexibility and parking availability, and he said the location was strategic geographically with major highways intersecting, making it easy to gain access to shopping, restaurants and entertainment in that area.
“My hope is that the retail there will continue to grow,” he said. “Obviously we have a mall that needs an investor. It needs to be revitalized and redone, and I am hoping that down the way, that is something that can also happen that will really help that whole area.”
Despite what the area may look like now, Waller said his plans are to bring a high-end movie theater to Pine Bluff that will be the foundation and the staple of growth. Currently, Waller is in negotiations with Pine Bluff agencies and organizations that want to establish a partnership.
“If those things go well, we do have plans to bring a much broader entertainment experience than just a movie theater,” said Waller, who said he hopes community leaders and patrons will be supportive of the new project. “There is definitely a lot more components that we are looking at and have plans to bring.”
The theater will also generate employment opportunities. Waller plans to have a full staff from management positions down to team members. Committed to making the major investment in Pine Bluff, Waller said, he hopes the community feels that he believes in Pine Bluff, even if others don’t.
“I know there’s a lot of hurdles and there’s still a lot of things that have to happen to Pine Bluff for the community to become everything that everyone wants it to be,” he said, “but I think it is well on its way, and I really do believe something great is happening in Pine Bluff. I don’t count people out who are willing to come together, work hard, plan and sacrifice, and that’s what I see. Pine Bluff is coming together, and the citizens want something special for their town, and I think they are going to get it.”