Monday, May 21, 2018

Pottsville Still Looks to Add Movie Theatre; While Original Plan Folds

While a plan to open a new Pearl Theater in Pottsville has folded, city officials are hopeful to bring a movie theater to the city.

Late last week, it was announced that the original plan that was announced back in January to build a new Pearl Movie Theater on top of a rebuilt Mahantongo Parking Deck in Pottsville has been scrapped.

In a statement from the City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar to the Republican Herald, "The movie company was unable to garner the financial resources needed to make the project a reality".

Pearl Theater owners Bruce Taffet and Gina DiSanto stated back in January that the project was expected to have been expensive but were hopeful to secure the funds to build the 8 screen movie theater.

Taffet and DiSanto are still looking to rebuild the theater, formerly located at the Schuylkill Mall, somewhere in Schuylkill County, with the Pottsville area still on the list.

Savas Logothetides, Director of the Pottsville Area Development Corporation, also stated "This is not indicative of Pottsville not having a market for a movie theatre. We are still working diligently to try and bring a theatre to the city."

The project to rebuild the deteriorating Mahantango Parking Deck will still move forward, just without the theater.

Demolition of the Parking Deck is scheduled to start in the summer.