Now that the old Wyandotte Theater is gone, city leaders are trying to figure out what to do with the space where it stood.
Officials are reviewing their options for this prime downtown property (at First and Elm streets) and hope to settle on a plan by next spring. The city is open to a wide range of ideas; from residential to commercial to the construction of another entertainment-based building.
"Probably a multi-use building, but it's still in the studying stage right now," says Pat Slack, a member of the Wyandotte Downtown Development Authority Board and owner of River's Edge Gallery.
A request for building proposals will be put out once the city settle on a plan for the property. Local officials originally planned to reopen the vacant building as a theater again, although concluded that wasn't possible after meeting with entrepreneurs in the theater industry. They said, according to city officials, a commercial movie theater needs at least 12 to 15 screens to be viable and the most the Wyandotte Theater could offer was six.
The Art Deco-style theater had been closed for 17 years and was completely gutted. It was the first multiple-screen theater in Michigan when it opened in 1936. The city bought the theater earlier this year for $802,600.
Source: Patt Slack, Wyandotte, member of the Wyandotte Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke
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