The Boston Globe is reporting (via boston.com) that plans for a new movie theater in the Westgate Mall in Brockton, Massachusetts are not going well. The area had a movie theater until 2004, when the Hoyts Westgate Cinema closed.

According to Christopher MacMillan, the Ward 7 city councilor, Atlanta-based Gregory Greenfield & Associates originally planned to begin construction this past spring. But the work never began because the economic crisis hampered financing for the $20 million project.

In May, Gregory Greenfield requested a year-long extension with National Amusements, the national theater chain that would run the facility, in order to secure the funding. But with about seven months left before the deadline, the prospects of starting construction appear dim, said MacMillan, whose ward encompasses the mall area.

“The hope is that it can get started by May 2010, or it will likely become a dead issue,’’ said MacMillan, who has worked with the developer throughout the process. “But since nothing will get done during the winter months, there is a pretty bleak five-month window for the developers to work with.’’

Currently, the closest movie theater to Brockton is the Showcase Cinemas Randolph in Randolph, which is approximately five miles away.

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