Developer chooses College Station contractor

A groundbreaking ceremony organized by Hollywood Theaters, Tillman Redevelopment LLC and the city will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the construction site – a fenced city block bounded by Olive and College streets and Campbell and Market avenues.

Hollywood Theaters will open a 14-screen, stadium-seating cinema featuring high-back rocker-chair seats and digital surround sound, according to a city news release. The theater is expected to open next summer.

The Oregon-based chain – a subsidiary of Wallace Theater Holdings Inc. – operates 14-screen theaters in Joplin and Columbia as well as a 10-screen theater in St. Joseph.

The 48,000-square-foot theater will anchor the 135,000-square-foot complex, which will also include restaurant and retail space, according to the release.

Scott Hall, senior vice president for real estate and development for Hollywood Theaters, is among those scheduled to speak at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Tillman, president of Tillman Redevelopment, is the developer for College Station. Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc. is the project architect. And the city is partnering on the project by constructing two car parks to serve College Station and the Heer’s redevelopment project.

College Station was originally slated to open in fall 2006, but delays associated with the parking decks pushed back the opening date.

The city was forced to redesign the 393-space parking garage south of the theater complex in early 2006 after construction bids came in about $2 million over budget. In November, City Council formally accepted Springfield-based DeWitt & Associates’ $8.69 million bid for the deck, which will have 35,000 square feet of retail space on its ground floor.

Read SBJ’s Aug. 13 issue for more about the College Station project.