Plans for theater outlined
Souderton hears proposal to reopen Broad Theater
SOUDERTON » Like a lot of other people, Kyle Hoff remembers going on dates with his wife to the Broad Theater.
Unlike a lot of other people, Hoff has restored several old industrial buildings, including the one in which the district court in Harleysville is located, the one where Broad Street Grind is in Souderton, and the Telford one that houses Popcorn Works.
“Every building I have is way older than me,” Hoff said. “I just like old buildings. And I like a challenge. It’s the engineer in me.”
At Souderton Borough Council’s Oct. 16 work session, he gave the board an overview of what he’d like to do with the century-
old Broad Theater building that has been closed since 2006.
The plan is to reopen it, he said, and make it into two theaters.
“Stadium-style seating, roughly 125 seats per theater, with upgraded video and audio, just focusing on value,” he said.
He also has a signed letter of intent with Perkasie-based Free Will Brewing, he said.
“They would basically run a tap room in the lobby,” Hoff said.
The borough now owns the theater after previous owner Broad Entertainment LP defaulted on an economic development loan through the borough, and there were no bidders on the property when it went to sheriff sale earlier this year. Broad Entertainment planned to reopen the theater, with accompanying restaurants and meeting
space. Some of that work was completed, but the work ultimately stalled out.
The borough has put an adjacent building that was part of the Broad project up for sale. The theater building, itself, is not yet on the market, but borough officials say they expect to ask for bids soon. A decision on which of two bids and business proposals received for the neighboring property is planned for council’s Nov. 6 meeting.
Information about the two offers is posted on the borough’s webpage.
Davood Sowhangar, owner of Broad Street Pizza, offered $250,000 and said his plan is to move his neighboring business into part of the first floor, along with additional businesses on the first and second floors and an apartment on the third floor. In subsequent discussion, Sowhangar has said the plan for the third floor could be changed, with the possible alternatives including a rooftop restaurant.
Barbara Smith-Johnson, owner of Ark Animal Hospital, offered $200,000 and said her plan is for a vibrant public market including retail, restaurant and gathering spaces and a rooftop restaurant.
“We are fortunate to have two really good plans here,” council President Brian Goshow said at the Oct. 16 meeting.
He said he appreciates how much was already put into the plans.
“There’s a lot of time, there’s a lot of money spent just to put a plan together,” he said.
Making a decision between the two offers won’t be easy, he said, but it’s good to see the interest.
“We do have a tough decision before us. There’s no way around that,” Goshow said, “but, boy, I’m glad that we have a tough decision before us.”
Both Sowhangar and Smith-Johnson have said they would like to have connections between the neighboring building and the theater if it reopens.
“Our plans include an opening to connect both buildings,” Hoff said.
He said he would like to see the neighboring building include food and beverage businesses.
“How great would it be to get some pizza, get some beer, watch a movie?” he said.
The business hours of the neighboring building should line up with the theater hours, he said.
“If my movie gets done at 8:30, I don’t want people going home,” Hoff said. “It’d be nice if they had something to do.”
The plan to reopen the theater is a personal one, he said, not part of his Hoff Properties business.
“For months, I’ve been looking into this, studying it, running different options,” he said.
A lot of people don’t go to the movies because of the price, he said.
“They say, ‘I’ll wait for Blu-ray, I’ll wait for Netflix,’” Hoff said. “Well, what if they don’t have to?”
His plan is to have $8 movie tickets, he said.
“Growing up in this area, being in this area, building a bunch of buildings in this area, people really want value,” he said, offering, as an example, the success of Jesse’s Barbecue and Local Market.
“Quality affordable products,” Hoff said.
Bringing in Free Will Brewing also helped with the decision to want to purchase the theater, he said.
“That, in my mind, made it a win-win,” Hoff said. “They are so big and so popular, they have their own draw.”
“I just like old buildings. And I like a challenge. It’s the engineer in me.” — Kyle Hoff