Westborough board approves bid to revive former Regal property into new cinema
WESTBOROUGH — The former Regal Cinema on Route 9 is slated to become a movie theater once again, as the Select Board voted to approve a proposal to revive the property as a new theater.
The Select Board chose a proposal from LAX Media LLC., a Walpole company that operates 13 movie theaters throughout New England, with the closest in Cambridge.
"I think we know there is a huge buzz around town regarding this, we have been working diligently since we put out an RFP for this process, and we are ready to move forward with a formal award of the bid," Select Board Chair Ian Johnson said during Wednesday's board meeting.
More: Three ideas pitched for former Regal Cinema in Westborough
The town had put out a request for proposals earlier this summer and received three bids to consider:
A $7.94 million bid from development company PulteGroup, which proposed to raze the cinema building and construct 108 condominiums on the property.
A $2.8 million bid from Ferris Development Group, which proposed to redevelop the property into a business center.
LAX Media's $2.5 million bid to renovate the existing cinema building.
While LAX's bid was the lowest of the three, Select Board members said they felt it best met the criteria set up to determine the future of the property.
Johnson said each bid was evaluated under five criteria; purchase price, financial benefits, financial resources of the bidder, the ability to proceed and sustainability.
"As we went through and evaluated our criteria in those five areas, we came out with Ferris and Pulte having two advantageous ratings, and LAX Media had three," Johnson said. "In the least favorable category, Ferris and LAX had zero and Pulte had two. That was the process we went through, there was one bid that came to the top of that."
The property is at 231 Turnpike Road in Stagecoach Plaza, and has been vacant since 2017. Regal Cinemas had been leasing the space since 1997, but the theater closed in 2017 and the tenant stopped paying property taxes. In 2018, the town had actually reached an agreement to sell the property to LAX Media for $5 million, but had to terminate that agreement after a dispute emerged on who actually owned the site.
More: Westborough selectmen accept $5 million bid for former Regal Cinema
The town officially took control of the property earlier this year, and put out the request for proposals.
"I want to thank all bidders for their participation in the process and for their patience as we worked through this," Select Board member Shelby Marshall said. "We recognize the wheels of government don't always work as fast as the people in business want them to. I also want to thank the public for their involvement and interest in this."
LAX Media's other cinemas are branded as Apple Cinemas, and are known for showing a mixture of mainstream, major studio movies as well as foreign films, particularly films from Bollywood and South Asia. In its proposal for the Regal Cinema property, LAX Media announced plans to refurbish the building and update the technology at the site.
"Our intent is to invest in the premises by thoroughly remodeling and modernizing the facility, which would include upgrading the fit and finish of the facility, installation of luxury recliners, all new LASER projectors, installation of premier large scale 4K screens, and DOLBY ATMOS sound system and installation and operation of quality concessions,” LAX Media stated.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Apple Cinemas parent wins bid to redevelop Regal site in Westborough
