Davis ‘stars’ shine for Megaplex launch
Sep 25, 2010 | 747 views | 0 
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The groundbreaking for the theater was held Thursday, and construction is expected to be completed by October 2011. The theater, which will include the first IMAX screen in Davis County, will serve as the anchor for the Legacy Crossing Development.
That sentiment, shared by Gail Miller, owner of the Larry H. Miller Group, was echoed by several of the speakers at the groundbreaking for the new Centerville Megaplex 14 development, held Thursday.
Lt. Gov. Greg Bell, Centerville City Mayor Ronald Russell, and others shared their hopes and plans for the theater that will serve as an anchor for the larger Legacy Crossing Development.
“This spot has been here a long time, and it’s begged for some kind of activity,” said Bell, referring to the building’s site just west of I-15. “This development will be good for the entire area.”
The new theater, which is expected to be completed by October 2011, will encompass 90,000 square feet and include 14 screens. One of those screens will be the first IMAX theater in Davis County, and other amenities will include D-Box motion seats and 100-flavor interactive freestyle Coke machines.
Megaplex Theatres’ Senior Vice President, Blake Anderson, said the building has been a long time coming in the eyes of the public.
“Since I’ve held this position, I’ve received numerous phone calls and e-mails asking us to build a Megaplex in Davis County,” he said. “When word got out on our Facebook site, comments kept pouring in like ‘It’s about time’ and ‘Oh yes, I will so be there.’”
Greg Miller, CEO of the Larry H. Miller group, agreed.
“Looking at the map and seeing the big void in this part of the state, it made a pretty easy decision to put a theater here,” he said. Theater officials estimate that the theater will get a million visitors per year.
The theater will serve as the anchor for a mixed use development that will include 30,000-50,000 square foot units of retail space, retail pads, restaurants, offices, and a housing component that U.S. Development’s Dan Bridenstine should start sometime in the next 90-120 days.
Though it’s only been a year since U.S. Development pitched the project to the Larry H. Miller Group, the location caused several challenges in getting it to this point.
“We had doubts at points whether we could pull off various components of this, so it’s exciting to be here,” said Mayor Russell, referring to the zoning and infrastructure issues that had to be taken care of. “Our city staff, planning commission and city council went through countless hours of putting various details of this together, but it’s going to open up development in this whole area.”
He talked about the early days of the property, when it served as the home for a local goat herd.
“We were concerned that this would always be a field for goats, or it would turn into a development that wouldn’t be good for the greater community,” Russell said. “This is what we were hoping for.”
Bell highlighted the economic potential of the development, something that is sorely needed in this economy.
“People have told me ‘Why did you want to be lieutenant governor? You only go to shopping center openings,’” he said. “These days, though, there aren’t many shopping center openings. Detroit would love something like this.”
jwardell@davisclipper.com
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