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Evanston Now
Quick exit sought by current owners.
The owners of the Church Street Plaza development in downtown Evanston have listed it for sale.
The listing from CBRE indicates the owners are seeking a quick sale of the property, with initial bids due by May 27.
With the recent closure of the Century Theatres, the plaza is just 50% occupied, according to the broker’s information, which claims, “The ability to re-lease and re-position the asset presents a unique opportunity to acquire a premier retail asset at a fraction of its former basis and create significant incremental value.”
The complex includes three buildings with a total of over 179,000 square feet of space.
Resident Nick Anderson (Weinberg ‘19) said Evanston’s Century 12 movie marked the “halcyon age” of his college life.
He said his most prominent memories at Century 12 were not of sitting in vivacious rooms with animated moviegoers, but of more intimate connections the theatre facilitated with friends.
“I remember being there to see ‘Call Me by Your Name’ and crying with a friend of mine sitting next to me in the movie theatre,” he said. “It was really cool to see how the Northwestern community was experiencing these cultural moments together.”
Century 12 announced it would shut down indefinitely last March at the pandemic’s onset. But as time drug its feet first March, then summer, fall and finally winter coronavirus lockdowns stayed planted and revenues stalled. Finally, the Evanston RoundTable reported last week the downtown theatre was closing, permanently.
Century 12 Evanston movie theatre closes its doors
The Century 12 Evanston movie theatre, which has been closed for almost a year, will not reopen under its current ownership, city officials told the Evanston RoundTable Monday.
Paul Zalmezak, the city’s economic development manager, said to the RoundTable a loophole in the lease agreement between Century 12/Cinemark theatres and the Stockbridge Capital Group, which owns the Church Street Plaza development, allowed Cinemark to terminate its lease.
Cinemark and its ownership had been fighting a legal battle over the lease exit clause since about the start of the pandemic, officials said.
Zalmezak said the city is collaborating with Downtown Evanston to find a new movie operator to take over the space, but it could be 18 months before the selection process ends.