By Peggy Mackenzie
The owners of the new multiplex theater, Cinema 8, have publicized their opening date at last.
Dianna Barnette co-owner of Barnette Development, LLC, stated the targeted opening date for the eight-screen theater complex, located above Lowes at the rear of Gateway Commons shopping development on 219 North, is somewhere between Feb. 10 and 12. The theaters, she said, will show first-run movies and will have a seating capacity for 1,000 viewers. It will eventually employ around 25 people.
Begun in the fall of 2012, the theater project endured a lengthy regulatory process. Numerous city zoning hurdles, design and siting adjustments, as well as storm water issues delayed construction of the $5 million project for months.
“The contractors have given us a completion date of Jan. 23, but the opening will be delayed a while for the “final touches,” Barnette told the press. Now that they are in the home stretch, Barnette said it is her hope to be an asset to the community.
Dianna Barnette and her husband Ronald Barnette also own Fountain Place Cinema 8 in Logan County, along with several other businesses.
