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The morning of October 20th marked the official start to The Dunes Shopping Center’s next phase of expansion, spearheaded by the construction of a 5 screen movie theatre set for completion summer 2015. “A state of the art, NextGen, all digital projection with 7.1 surround sound” will come with the development of the theatre said Jennifer Wood, Cinemark representative and guest speaker for the day. A NextGen Theatre provides the customers with wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-ceiling screens, Barco DLP projectors as well as RealD 3D versatility. The theatre’s presence in Marina will be the fourth Century theatre in the Monterey Bay area and the sixty-sixth in the state of California. A long awaited process, both by investors and members of the surrounding community, Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado explained to the crowd of commissioners and community invitees in attendance at the groundbreak, that the theatre can be a catalyst for attracting future businesses and an important next step in The Dunes’ retail expansion. “Although the city has invested $275,000 as an incentive, it will be made up in sales and property taxes from the theatre, new business that will locate here because of the theatre and new customers that will come because of this development,” said the Mayor Delgado. Shea Properties are responsible for the existing retail outlets found currently at The Dunes on Monterey, which is anchored by Target and includes Best Buy, Kohl’s, REI and Old Navy. With Marina Community Partners, it will continue to expand the master planned-community set aside for The Dunes which is was selected by the State Department of Housing and Community as a Silver level Catalyst community that will impose innovative strategies to increase the supply of affordable housing. Plans for a theatre complex based at The Dunes on Monterey have faced setbacks over the past 10 years, with factors including high development costs on Fort Ord (demolition of blight) as well as “dark days in the economy”, specifically referring to the recession of 2008 that affected a countless people in the western world, have hindered the development process. However, through partnership with Marina Community Partners and “the vision and leadership of Marina city council members” could plans for development really transpire, said Jeff Melrose, Vice President of Shea Properties. “This will be a great addition to Marina, which is becoming recognized as one of the best places locally to enjoy a great entertainment and shopping experience,” Melrose said. The planned focal point and place of gathering, the Dunes on Monterey as it is so called, is set to include 42 acres of park, a transit hub with bus priority access and a Department of Defense/Veterans Affairs clinic. According to local press release by PR.com, is it thought that the theatre will stimulate local job creation and retention, generating as much as 800 construction jobs, several thousand permanent jobs with an expected $193 million annual payroll by 2020. The prospect of a new cinema to the youth, families and seniors of the Marina area is highly anticipated with “people asking for a cinema for a long time” Said the mayor. Students of California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) can hope to share in such benefits, with campus sitting just adjacent to the future theatre. Mayor Delgado concluded, “It’s a university town and you can’t have one of those without a theatre”. For eager cinema-goers, the first choice of movies showing at the new site include, Star Wars Episode 7, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, Jurassic World and The Minions. Such films are set to take huge box office revenues and with the Century’s latest addition to the area, will no doubt only increase takings for the blockbuster season. Otter Realm; http://otterrealm.com/2014/10/30/cine-mark-their-territory/
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By James Morley
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