The BigScreen Cinema Guide: News & Events

A Los Angeles-based movie theater chain, headed by former professional basketball star Magic Johnson, has expressed an interest in developing an entertainment complex at Capitol Court Shopping Center.

Magic Johnson Theatres executives met earlier this year with Capitol Court owner Winmar Co. Inc. of Seattle, according to information provided by Milwaukee Common Council president John Kalwitz's office.

Capitol Court Shopping Center management recently razed an adjoining vacant retail building in hopes of marketing the site to a new anchor tenant, which could include a multi-screen movie theater operated by a national chain.

In recent years, the shopping mall, 5500 W. Capitol Drive, Milwaukee, has lost its two anchor tenants, Sears Roebuck & Co., Chicago, and Target Stores, Minneapolis, and has been struggling to find replacements.

Deb Jacupke, Capitol Court Corp. vice president, confirmed that Winmar has had discussions with an entertainment facility operator in its attempt to find a new anchor tenant. Several retailers have also expressed interest in the site, but she declined to identify any of the prospective tenants.

Magic Johnson Theatres, a joint venture of Johnson Development Corp. and Sony Retail Entertainment, is developing 14 multi-screen movie complexes in urban locations throughout the country. The theaters, with 3,600 to 4,600 seats, are intended to serve areas with high minority populations.

Johnson is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) star who played for the Los Angeles Lakers. He retired from the NBA following the 1995-96 season and is now a part-owner of the Lakers.

The chain's first site opened in Los Angeles in June 1995 in the area ravaged by the 1992 riots. A second theater opened Nov. 22, 1996, in Atlanta and other new theater openings are planned for 1997, including Houston, Chicago and Detroit.

Kalwitz, whose district includes Capitol Court, wrote a letter to Magic Johnson Theatres in February offering his assistance to the potential development. He could not be reached for comment.

Kenneth Lombard, Magic Johnson Theatres president, was also unavailable for comment.

Milwaukee Ald. Fred Gordon said he first learned of Magic Johnson Theatres' interest in Milwaukee when he attended an economic development conference in Los Angeles in May. The conference, sponsored by the National Black Caucus of Elected Officials, included a presentation by the Johnson organization.

"When I talked with (Magic Johnson Theatres), I was told there had been some contact made in Milwaukee. I thought of Capitol Court right away," he said.

Gordon said when he told Kalwitz of the Johnson operation he learned that The Marcus Corp., the Milwaukee theater chain operator which controls most of the local movie market, opposed the idea. Marcus Corp. operated a two-screen theater at Capitol Court which closed in the late 1980s. Marcus Theatres Corp. president Bruce Olson said "it is absolutely untrue" that Marcus opposed the project.

Meanwhile, Capitol Court's owners are proceeding with plans to renovate the 40-year-old shopping center's south entrance.

Jacupke said a three-level building, last used by Sears in 1992, was demolished in early November. A new entrance, now on the drawing board, is planned to be constructed next spring. The design depends, in part, on whether a new anchor tenant builds on the site.

"Removing that building has already energized that (south) parking field. Of course, our best case scenario would be to have another anchor there," she said.

Jacupke said Capitol Court's fortunes are improving following the January 1996 closure of its largest tenant, the 135,000-square-foot Target discount store.

Osco Drug Inc., a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based American Stores Co., plans to open a 16,800-square-foot facility on a Capitol Court outlot in 1997. A Taco Bell restaurant opened three weeks ago on another Capitol Court outlot.

The 850,000-square-foot mall is about 80 percent leased.

"We have to sell twice as hard because we're urban," said Jacupke. "I really think we're seeing signs of the pendulum starting to swing back from the suburbs."

Malls like Capitol Court are the beneficiaries of two trends -- movie theaters and renovations, said Mark Schoifet, a spokesman at the International Council of Shopping Centers, New York City.

"In the last five years, center operators are looking to heighten the entertainment aspect," he said. "Movie theaters contribute to the overall entertainment atmosphere. Anything that draws people into the mall is seen as a positive."

Schoifet said Sony of Los Angeles and American Multi-Cinema Inc. of Kansas City are among the most aggressive theater chains in mall locations.

AMC has proposed a 24-screen theater complex at Mayfair Mall Shopping Center, Wauwatosa. Sony operates the nation's seventh largest movie chain.

Gordon said he hopes Capitol Court will be included in the Magic Johnson organization's future plans.

"There are a lot of Capitol Courts in the country that are looking for things like this."

© 1996, The Business Journal