Closed Village Center Cinema at Airway Heights for sale at auction; sellers seeking minimum $1.7M

Apr. 11—A Village Centre Cinemas theater in Airway Heights, which has occupied a 7-acre site along the bustling highway on the West Plains since 2009, is for sale.

The audience was not large enough in the area for the theater, said K. Duane Brelsford, president and managing partner of Corporate Pointe Developers and one of the original developers on the project. The 10-screen theater shuttered for good several months ago, and an online auction seeking at least $1.7 million for the building is scheduled for next week.

"We had a good 14 years," Brelsford said. "It's a beautiful piece of property. I think someone can turn it into a higher and better use."

The chain's locations in Wandermere, Lewiston, Moscow and Pullman will remain open, Brelsford said.

Chris Bornhoft, designated broker for Bornhoft Commercial who is representing the owners of Village Centre Cinemas, said there's been substantial interest in the building, a nearly 30,000-square-foot, stone-accented structure with parking for almost 390 motorists.

"There could be a ton of adaptive uses, or reuses, for it — schools, potential churches, or industrial reuses," Bornhoft said. "Anything that could benefit from having a huge building footprint and a parking lot out front."

Signs indicating permanent closure of the theater, operated by the Pullman-based chain, were posted in January. When the location opened, it was the only option for moviegoers on the West Plains after a two-screen theater in Cheney closed in 2007.

In 2018, Northern Quest Resort and Casino opened its Movie and Dinner venue as part of an expansion of its offerings at the gaming complex. B&B Theatres, based in Missouri, now operates an eight-screen cinema on the site.

Brelsford said while he understood the disappointment of moviegoers, the market did not support two cinemas in the area.

"You've got a pretty small market out there," he said. "There's only room for so many seats, so many screens."

Bornhoft said he and the owners began meeting with Ten-X, an online commercial real estate exchange company, a couple of months ago to begin talks about selling the property.

"We're happy to be partnering with them on this one," Bornhoft said. "It's not for every property, it's a very specific tool that you're going to use for a very specific property."

An online auction is scheduled to open Monday for the property, and close April 19. Bornhoft said that schedule may change based on interest in the building.

Mark Losh, chief executive officer of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday that while the chamber hopes all of its businesses keep their doors open, economic conditions sometimes prevent that from happening.

"I hope we have a good owner that purchases it," he said.

The Airway Heights location was the most recent to open under the Village Centre umbrella. The Pullman theater opened in November 2003, and the Wandermere cinema opened in August 2006.

The Airway Heights theater, along with movie theaters throughout Washington, was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the pandemic did not affect the decision to close the cinema, Brelsford said.

"During the COVID time, the government gave pretty good support to businesses that were shuttered," he said.

Brelsford said tickets at the Village Centre location in Airway Heights were also subject to a 5% admissions tax from the city, and "there's a possibility that other competitors may not have had that." The tax, and available profit margins, prevented the location from investing in some amenities that have become common in modern theaters, including food service and reclining seats, Brelsford said. It doesn't apply to tribal properties.

The location was also one of the few in town that offered general seating, allowing you to walk in and choose your seat rather than paying for a specific spot beforehand.

Brelsford said he was confident a new business, generating more revenue, could find a home in the building. He cited interest from a church and a trade school, and his own belief it would make a good spot for a car dealership.

"It will benefit Airway Heights, and the community, to put something in there that's a better need than another movie theater," he said.