The announcement Wednesday that a 10-screen movie theater is coming to the Lewis County Mall did not launch Terry Harris into a happy jig.
After years of similar announcements, the owner of Aloha Paradise Family Hair Care, which is across from the proposed theater in the north Chehalis shopping center and government office complex, is cautious about getting too excited. The deal has been delayed several times since 2003, and was thought to be called off entirely last April.
"I'll believe it when I hear the jackhammers," Harris said Thursday.
BUT THOSE jackhammers may be a while off yet. Though the final agreement between Coming Attractions Theatres and Minnesota-based Chehalis LLC, the mall owners, was signed last month, designs for the proposed Midway Cinema have not been completed. Subsequently, the project has not even gone out to bid or gone through the necessary permitting process.
The goal is to have the theater operating by this Christmas, but even Coming Attractions President Larry McLennan admits that's an ambitious goal.
"Man, it's tight," he said of the expected schedule. "Probably by next week we'll release the architect to go full speed on developing the final plans. Then it's out to bid and permits. We're just starting that process. I'm hesitant to tell you exactly because when you're dealing with an existing building, there's some demolition and some issues we'll still have to work through."
McLennan is used to delays, however. He's been working with mall owners since at least 2003 to take over the former Rite Aid space on the mall's east end. Rite Aid moved out of the mall in 2004. During that time, a deal could not be hashed out. As soon as it would get close, something would get in the way, said McLennan.
Most recently, it was Sears, the largest retailer still in the mall, which had a condition in its contract that required its approval to move a theater into the complex. Last April, a deal couldn't be reached between Sears and Coming Attractions, and the idea went back into negotiations, said McLennan.
Much of the arguing was about the theater's exterior.
"Whenever you have to go to someone for approval, they always want something in return," he said. "That took some negotiating."
WHILE HE WOULD NOT give details, McLennan said the issues had been resolved and, barring rejection from the mall owners of the final theater plans, and any snags in permitting, construction could begin this summer.
Once construction begins, it is expected to take about six months to transform the 34,500-square-foot former drugstore into a 10-screen movie theater with stadium seating.
FOR OTHER Lewis County Mall tenants such as Harris, the theater can't open soon enough.
Harris said he's hung onto his location at the mall in spite of the mass exodus of other retailers since the late 1990s. Harris' salon is one of only a handful of storefronts still operating at the mall. It's been at that location for about 30 years, though he's owned it only since 2000.
"We have well-established stylists, so we've been holding our own," he said. "We're fortunate, being a destination business, we don't have to rely on surrounding businesses. But, we've sure missed the walk-ins. That's what's really hurts. The theater will bring a lot more foot traffic."
THAT FOOT TRAFFIC, however, has to come from somewhere. Specifically, it will likely come from Chehalis' two existing movie theaters, Cinema 3 at the Yard Birds Mall and the Chehalis Theater downtown. Both are owned by Daryl Lund and Jim Rothlin.
For the past half-dozen years, Lund - coincidentally, like Harris, a member of the Chehalis City Council - has been skeptical of Coming Attractions opening at the Lewis County Mall. Hearing the news Thursday that the deal was done came as a shock.
"I don't know (what we're going to do)," he said. "We'll just keep plugging along for as long as we can."
Lund and Rothlin have owned the downtown theater since 1994, though they didn't reopen it until 1998. They've owned the Yard Birds theater for about four years, Lund said.
They had expressed interest to Chehalis LLC in opening a theater at the Lewis County Mall three or four years ago, Lund said, but nothing ever came of that pursuit.
"We had talked to them at one time, but they never got back to us," he said. "It would have been nice."
Chehalis LLC President Dick Langlais was not available for comment Thursday.
At this point, Lund does not expect his two small theaters will be able to compete with the 10-screen megaplex the Ashland, Ore.-based Coming Attractions Theatres plans to bring to the mall.
"We'll probably be closing," he said candidly. "I don't see how we can compete. With 10 screens in one town, we can't compete."
Amanda Haines covers municipal government and health for The Chronicle. She may be reached at 807-8245, or by e-mail at ahaines@chronline.com.
