Curtain closing on Regal cinema in Lake Zurich
After 32 years, the screens at Regal Lake Zurich cinema will go dark for good after the last showing Thursday.
The property at 755 S. Rand Road (Route 12) has been for sale and though suspected awhile the closing noted by an anonymous poster on social media was a surprise.
Development partners who have pitched a mix of apartments and a restaurant for the 20-acre property had no hint after meeting with owners last week, said Michael Duebner, assistant village manager.
Regal employees reportedly were notified last week, he added.
A message on a sheet of paper affixed to a window at the theater thanks patrons for the years of movie going but “the curtains are slowly coming to a close.”
“We hope you all can come on in and watch one last movie with us!” the note reads. Moviegoers are directed to Regal theaters in Crystal Lake, Bolingbrook and two locations in Chicago.
“It certainly was news to us this morning when we found out,” Richard Silverman, vice president of development for MJK Real Estate Holding company said Monday.
Regal did not respond to requests for information. Regal locations in Round Lake Beach and Lincolnshire were among 39 U.S. locations closed in early 2023 by parent company Cineworld Group, which had filed for bankruptcy.
Duebner said those were leased properties and Regal owned the Lake Zurich location.
“This was one of the original theaters that had not seen any remodeling,” he said. “It was probably somewhat dated.”
The Regal property is under contract, Silverman said. MJK, a retail and restaurant developer, and Continental Properties Company, Inc., a privately-held national real estate developer based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, are pursuing a joint venture.
In an initial review in January, the partners presented a plan for June Terrace, described as a high-end rental community with 282 apartments in eight 3-story buildings.
As proposed, the theater will be demolished and MJK will build a fast-food restaurant on an outlot with the June Terrace rental community occupying most of the remaining property.
A Continental representative at the time said the project represents an $80 million investment and would revitalize the area.
Density and stormwater control were among the concerns during the initial review. Developers have been addressing those concerns and are scheduled to present revised plans to the advisory planning and zoning commission Sept. 17, Duebner said.
“Certainly, we’re sad to see the theater go (but), in another respect, we wouldn’t want to see a property in a prime location be vacant” for an extended time, Duebner said.